


A Little Broken, But Still Good

by LesbianArsenal



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Connor/Kyle (background), Domestic Fluff, Gen, Jackson Hyde/Miguel Barrigan (Background), Kory/Babs (background), Linda/Wally (background), Lots of Characters that I didn't tag, Lots of Father/Daughter bonding, Midpollo (background), Multi, Slow Burn, So Much Friendship, Swearing, Too Much Bowling, i'll add tags as i add chapters, no capes AU, suburban dads au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-01-30 02:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 40,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12644475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LesbianArsenal/pseuds/LesbianArsenal
Summary: Roy decided to move himself and his daughter across the country with his best friends. He had hoped it would help both he and Lian move on from their pasts and be a good fresh start. All things start with good intentions.Or: a suburban dad au





	1. New Beginnings?

**Author's Note:**

> So...here this is. Very self-indulgent, so fair warning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...here this is. Very Self-Indulgent, so be warned haha.

“You should come with us!” Dolphin said, her eyes wide and her movements exaggerated.

Roy’s face contorted in shock. He was sitting at his best friends’ kitchen counter, Garth next to him with Dolphin excitedly signing in front of him. He had been over, complaining about how they were abandoning him before they had dinner. Roy looked over to where Lian and Cerdian were playing in the next room.

“We couldn’t,” Roy started to say, but Garth interceded.

“Of course you could.”

“I can’t just move Lian across the country right after Jade…” Roy didn’t finish his sentence out loud, his face dropping. He had been co-parenting with Jade for the last five years, but as those years wore on the duties were pushed to Roy more often than not. Roy loved taking care of Lian. The little girl was his entire world. He just wished Jade hadn’t chosen her career over her daughter. Maybe he was just a little upset that Jade had ambitions greater than his.

“Well, fuck Jade,” Dolphin’s face was furious. Garth gave a quick glace to make sure Lian and Cerdian were not paying attention to the conversation. “She made her decision.” Roy could practically see the steam rising from Dolphin she was signing so viciously.

“Won’t that make it harder for her? I mean she’s already struggling to make friends,” Roy said, his shoulders hunched.

“Maybe a fresh start is what you both need,” Garth said.

Roy sighed, lacing his hands in front of his eyes. He knew it would be nice to get out of Star; to not walk past street corners that still made his heart hurt and his hand twitch. It would be nice to go to a new place, meet new people that didn’t constantly look at him with pity. It would probably be good for Lian too, maybe a new place would help her make new friends, or friends at all. Dolphin touched Roy’s hands gently and he looked up at the woman.

“You don’t have to make a decision right away.” Dolphin’s eyes were warm, and her earlier anger seemed to be dissipated. Roy silently thanked her.

“I think I need a walk, I need to clear my head,” He said after a few moments.

Garth told him to take all the time he needed. Roy signed his thanks and went over to Lian, giving her a kiss on the forehead and letting her know he would be back before dinner. She smiled up at him. He smiled back.

The hot summer sun beamed down at him as he walked out of the apartment complex. Roy sighed and began to make his way down to the sidewalk. Jade had always been a whirlwind in his life, swooping in and out of it like a bird at a feeder. Maybe he was mixing his metaphors. He had loved her when he was a teenager, when he was young and eager for affection. That passionate love had turned to bitter resentment when she left him, and he had spiraled. He had used her leaving as an excuse to be selfish, well, more selfish than he already had been. It hadn’t helped that he had been kicked out of Ollie’s a few months prior. He had stayed at his lowest for years after.

He remembered when Garth and Dolphin had told him they were expecting, that it was that conversation that made Roy run to his apartment and pour out every bottle in his cabinets and delete every number from his phone. He had joined a new group not two days later. Something about the memory had Roy reaching for his phone, scrolling down to the last contact. After a few rings, a gruff voice answered.

“Are you okay?” Roy winced at the deep voice’s lilt of panic.

“Yeah, I’m good Waylon,” Roy kicked a pebble and placed his free hand in his pocket, “Just got a lot on my mind.”

“Good to know you use it sometimes.”

Roy let out a forced chuckle. “Very funny.”

The line was silent for a moment, Waylon using the silence to coax out Roy’s conversation. Roy sighed as he looked up at the sky and explained what was going on. He talked about how Jade had decided to move for work permanently, that she was leaving Lian in his complete care, that Garth and Dolphin wanted him to move to Gotham with them. Waylon stayed silent, only grunting in response to Roy’s pauses.

“I mean, it wouldn’t be too hard on Connor at least, what with Kyle basically living there already. It wouldn’t be a big hassle to replace my name on the lease with his,” Roy continued, “But it’d be too hard on Lian to leave. She already misses Jade, and I’d be taking her from Connor, Mia, and Dinah, too.”

“Isn’t Lian used to missing Jade?” Waylon cut in.

Roy halted his pace for a moment, struck by Waylon’s first comment and the truth of it. Roy wasn’t sure how to respond. A part of him was always angry with Jade; he understood her job was demanding, but he had made a lot of sacrifices for Lian and would probably always be a bit bitter that Jade never seemed to make the same ones. He stopped himself from getting too angry, knowing that Jade had raised Lian on her own for the first three and a half years of her life while managing to get a degree at the same time. The only reason Jade didn’t come back and tell Roy sooner about Lian was the fact that he had been busy making selfish decisions of his own. The main reason it hadn’t worked out with him and Jade was that she had ambition and he didn’t. Or hadn’t. Did he have ambition now?

“Listen Roy, I’ve listened to you babble enough times to know when you’re using Lian as an excuse not to do something you really want,” Waylon said. Roy forced himself to accept the honesty. “In the end it’s your decision, but I think it would be good for both of you to get out of this city.”

“What will I do without you, though?”

“Oh, I’m sure you won’t lose my number,” Waylon laughed.

Roy laughed his good bye and thanked Waylon again before pocketing his phone. Waylon had been his sponsor for nearly six years now and had never been anything but honest with Roy, from the first moments of that first NA meeting when he had called Roy out for being drunk. He had thought he would never be able to come back to the group, but Waylon had seen something in Roy that he had never seen in himself. Hope. Waylon was more than his sponsor, he was a friend.

Roy wiped some sweat from his forehead. There were some good parts of this city, but most of them were moving to Gotham in a month. He didn’t know what he would do without them. He tried to think about his family, how Connor would always be there for him, but that also brought him to think about Oliver which was never a good reason to stay anywhere.

Right now, Ollie was dealing with an uncovered long-term affair and a messy divorce, not to mention Mia and Sin deciding to go with Dinah and not with Ollie. Roy didn’t blame them for making that decision though. Emi wasn’t talking to Ollie again either, which made Connor the go between for them. Bless Connor’s heart for putting up with his father more than anyone else was willing to. Oliver was more of a mess than ever, which meant that Roy was keeping an even bigger distance between them. Roy grabbed his phone out of his pocket and sent a quick text to Connor.

‘Should I move to Gotham?’

Roy pocketed his phone again as he made his way back towards Garth’s. He figured Connor would take at least twenty minutes to draft his reply, listing all the reasons he shouldn’t go. Surprisingly, his phone dinged only a moment later, and Roy scrambled to read the text.

‘If you’re asking me that, I think you already know the answer.’

Roy snorted. Maybe he didn’t have the perfect read on his brother after all.

 

 --

 

A month and a long conversation with Lian later found him unloading a moving van with Garth in Gotham’s summer heat. Lian was running in and out of the house, excitedly talking about how she got to share a room with Cerdian and not her Dad; that had been a big selling point on her part. Roy had been hesitant to agree to move in with his friends; he felt like he was still failing somehow, not being able to afford a place on his own.

The month prior had been him filling out online applications and wincing every time he had to click yes on the ‘have you ever been convicted of a felony’ question. Even if Ollie’s lawyer had gotten him off the drug charges with a trip to rehab and community service, no employer was jumping out of their seats to hire an ex-junkie. The entire ordeal had made him rethink his decision to move across the country, but it’s not like his two part-time jobs in Star had been raking in the money either. Garth had told him that his position as the tattoo shop’s counter guy could transfer here, and even if Roy jumped at the opportunity to make some money, he was still hoping to get something else that didn’t rely heavily on Garth as well.

“You know, it’s convenient Dol had to start first day we get here,” Roy grunted as he heaved his end of the couch a little higher.

“Well, we did spend an extra two days on the road because your car broke down,” Garth said.

“Hey, I fixed her, didn’t I? Poor thing was not ready for those three thousand extra miles we put on her.”

“I had suggested you sell that monstrosity before we left.”

“I told you then that I could never part with her. Besides, how much would I have even gotten for her?”

“It would have been at least seven dollars.”

“Seven dollars does not cover the emotional duress I would be under.”

They both laughed as they maneuvered the couch into the living room. Lian was excitedly running from room to room, trying to get out the energy she had bottled up from the week-long drive.

“So, Arthur could splurge on sending your car out here, but not getting you movers?” Roy flopped down on the newly placed couch. There were piles of boxes in the living room and kitchen, random odds and ends scattered in between. Roy put his feet up on the coffee table they had moved in earlier and lifted his hat to wipe the sweat off his face. “I would be offended if I were you.”

“You know, he offered it, but I told him you needed the exercise.”

“Fuck you,” Roy signed.

Garth just laughed. Lian came back into the room, plopping herself next to Roy on the couch. He moved to put an arm around her, but she wiggled out of the way.

“You’re too sweaty, Dad.” Roy gave his best offended look. Lian rolled her eyes and gave her father a quick forehead kiss before darting off the couch. “I’m gonna go unpack my room!” She yelled back at the two men in the living room as she darted down the hallway.

They moved the last few things out of the van, only stopping a few times to swat at each other. Roy closed the back of the truck and leaned against it dramatically, throwing his hands above his head. Garth snorted and pushed him out of the way, telling him to not burn down his new house while he drove the moving truck to the rental place.

“No promises!” Roy called before Garth turned around and closed the truck door.

Roy turned to walk back into the house, but noticed a couple walking towards him with a basket and intent. He froze in the driveway like a deer in headlights. He was not ready for neighbors who talked to him. Was this how things were here? Was it too late to back out? It probably was as his belongings and daughter were already inside the house.

“Hey there, new neighbor!” The man greeted Roy with a smile and an outstretched hand. “I’m Wally, this is my wife Linda, we live two doors down across the street!” Roy looked between the enthusiastic redhead’s face and his hand for a moment before realizing he needed to shake it. “Noticed you were new on the block.” Roy wondered what had given it away. Wally and Linda looked at him expectantly. When had he gotten so bad at meeting new people?

“Oh, sorry, I’m Roy,” He plastered on a quick smile.

“Welcome to the neighborhood, Roy,” Linda smiled. Roy could tell from her body language that she meant it, but Wally looked a bit uncomfortable. “So, is that your husband?”

Roy had to restrain his laughter. “No, no, he’s my best friend. He and his family moved out here to start new jobs, so I tagged along with my daughter.”

“Oh! Sorry, I guess I shouldn’t have assumed!” Linda said. Roy waved it off.

“It’s okay, you wouldn’t be the first to make that assumption,” Roy said, wishing he wasn’t so used to disclosing every intimate detail of his life with Dolphin and Garth.

“We have kids too! Twins, they’re a handful,” Linda laughed, “How old is your daughter?”

“She’s nine now, growing faster than I want her to,” Roy chuckled. He wondered how he could back into the house without these two realizing.

“Oh! A little older than Irey and Jai!” Linda said. “Well here, it’s not much, but I made some extra muffins this morning.” She handed him the basket and he took it, his constant smile starting to become harder to keep going. “We’ll leave you to it!” She pulled her husband along with her. Roy watched as they crossed the street. He looked down at the basket. He wasn’t sure how long he was staring at the basket for when Lian popped up next to him.

“What’s in the basket?” She asked, her eyes excited. Roy handed her a muffin. Lian inspected it and looked up at her father, confused. “They baked us muffins?”

“I guess so,” Roy said, pulling a muffin out the basket as well.

“Are they poison?” Lian asked, inspecting the muffin again. “You should eat one first.”

Roy laughed as he looked at his daughter’s serious face, “Wow, ready to get rid of me already, huh?” Lian scrunched her nose. Roy laughed again, but bit into the muffin. It was banana nut, and it was also very good. “Doesn’t taste like poison.”

“I’ll wait until later, sometimes poison takes a while,” Lian said, reaching up to put the muffin back in the basket as she turned to walk back into the house. Roy wasn’t sure whether to be proud of his daughter for not trusting baked goods from strangers or offended he was being used as a guinea pig. He decided on proud as he greedily took another bite of the muffin and followed her back inside.

Roy placed the muffins on the counter and busied himself with trying to put together Lian and Cerdian’s bed frames before it got too late. Lian was doing the important work of making sure her toys were all in the right spots. He would try to ask her questions about starting at a new school next week, but she would just be silent and then chatter on about something different. Roy tried not to let it bother him too much. Just as Roy was finishing up with the beds, he heard the door open.

“Did you make muffins while I was gone? Maybe I should have married you instead,” Garth called from the kitchen, his words muffled presumably by the muffin he was cramming into his face. Lian giggled and Roy rolled his eyes.

“That would have never worked, I’m way to demanding for you, remember? Besides, I can’t take credit.”

Garth popped his head into the kids’ bedroom. “Then who made them?”

“The neighbors, I guess,” Roy said. He pointed vaguely towards the door, “I guess they live across the street, wanted to welcome us to the neighborhood. Thought we were married.” Lian giggled again.

“We don’t have to bake something in return, do we?” Garth asked, worriedly looking at the half-eaten muffin his hand.

“I think neighborly laws dictate we don’t return an empty basket.”

“Those demons,” Garth deadpanned. Lian’s giggling was infectious as Roy gave in to it as well.

“I hope they like store bought,” Roy said. Garth nodded his agreement. Roy got up from his place on the ground. “Okay Lian, you’ve got things handled in here, right?”

Lian gave him a yes and smiled. Roy walked out the room after ruffling Lian’s hair a bit, Garth following him. They started unpacking some of the kitchen boxes, which basically amounted to Roy handing Garth things so that the kitchen was organized how he liked it. There was a loud triple knock on the door before it opened again, Cerdian running up to Garth and excitedly telling his father about his day. Roy watched as Ceridian dove into every detail.

Roy smirked. “I guess he liked it?” Dolphin nodded enthusiastically.

“Oh, he loved it! He made friends very quickly. Loved the other instructors, too.”

“And you?”

“It’s my dream job, Roy,” Dolphin signed his name as ‘cap’ it never ceased to amuse him, “Of course I loved it.” She had gotten a teaching position at the Gotham School for the Deaf. She had been talking about it non-stop, saying that the programs here in Gotham were much more well-funded than those in Star, that there were more extra-curricular options, that she would be able to teach a swim class. Roy had been excited for her, and for Cerdian to go to a great school as well.

Garth walked up to his wife and they took each other’s faces in their hands. Cerdian made a face as they stood there with their foreheads touching.

“You want to go help Lian fix up the rest of your room?” Roy asked. Cerdian’s whole face lit up as he said yes and then ran down the hall. Roy turned his attention back to his friends, as they were finished with their greeting. Dolphin pointed to the muffins on the counter and then to Roy. “Nope, the neighbors.”

“Oh! That’s so nice of them?” Dolphin’s face was confused, but happy.

“I guess you’ve got friendly neighbors,” Roy laughed.

“We,” Dolphin frowned, her movements exaggerated, “We have friendly neighbors.”

Roy sighed. He was going to have to get used to that part. He couldn’t help but feel like he was intruding on their new life, no matter how many times they assured him he wasn’t. The rest of the day was spent unpacking and setting up the house. Eventually, Roy ordered pizza as Garth pointed out that muffins were not an acceptable dinner food.

After Roy tucked Lian into bed, he went down to his room. His room was a small, almost-converted basement that he shared with the washer, dryer, and hot water tank. He had his bed set up, but everything else was still in boxes. He contemplated trying to organize or unpack the boxes, but instead just flopped onto the bed, kicking his shoes off in the process. He fell asleep on top of his covers, one foot still hanging off the bed.

 

\--

 

“Oh man, I’m so pumped about this!” Harley squealed as she rushed into the shop. Roy wondered if he would get used to the woman’s enthusiasm. And volume. Garth was smiling, and Roy could swear he could almost see tears in his friend’s eyes. Garth had been waiting for the day that Arthur would let him run a shop on his own, and now it was here.

“Looks like shit right now,” Roy said, gazing around at the shop chairs still covered in plastic, the boxes scattered about, and two cozy-looking couches haphazardly leaned against the wall. Garth clapped him on the back.

“Looks like you’re getting a work out again.”

Roy didn’t resist his urge to childishly stick his tongue out at Garth. Harley excitedly called dibs on a corner space and started to push a chair over. Roy rolled his eyes and helped her get it to the spot. The other two artists, Chato and Tatsu, started moving their equipment as well, though less enthusiastically. Garth had been flying between Gotham and Star for the last few months, trying to interview as many artists as he could. He ended up finding three artists who were quite happy to work under the _Atlantis_ name.  

“So, how long until I get my own chair, Garth?” Jackson was helping Garth move some of the drawers around the shop. Jackson had been Garth’s apprentice for a little over a year now, and he had been itching for his own chair ever since Arthur announced Garth would be getting his own shop in Gotham. Roy could tell the kid had improved, but he knew Garth would make him suffer at least another year. Arthur hadn’t even given Garth a chair until three years in. Though, that probably had to do more with the fact that Garth was constantly missing shifts to put up with Roy’s bullshit than anything else.

“At least another year,” Garth replied, “But maybe you can touch up some of Roy’s for practice.”

Roy shot a look at Garth from across the shop where he was now trying to arrange the waiting area.

“I don’t like getting volunteered for newbie needles without my consent.”

“Tell that to all the tattoos you got for free while passed out on my couch.”

Roy touched his arms defensively.

“No charging for them now!”

Garth shook his head, but Jackson was looking at Roy with those big, blue, puppy dog eyes of his. Roy knew he would be caving in. He would probably even let Jackson do a new piece, if he could find room.

By the time Garth ran out to get everyone lunch, the shop looked almost presentable. Harley was busy decorating her space, her shelf full of little figurines and tiny cacti. Tatsu and Chato were obsessively organizing their inks, and Jackson was helping Roy hang everyone’s flash art. The bell on the door rattled and Roy looked over, expecting Garth to start complaining about having to carry everyone’s orders, but instead being met with a very tall woman who had her long, red hair back in a ponytail.

“Sorry, we’re not quite open yet,” He said, hoping to make this interaction short, “Come back on Monday and we’ll have everything ready to go. I can make you an appointment if you need one.”

“Sorry, I’ve been waiting for this place to open for a while. You poached the best tattoo artist in the city.” She gave Tatsu a small wave and looked around the shop, barely looking like she shouldn’t be there. Tatsu smirked and sent a raised eyebrow to Chato and Harley. Harley stuck her tongue out and Chato just snorted and shook his head. “Who owns that ’91 Accord out front?”

Roy’s eyes snapped to the red car out front, his first thought being that someone had broken into it somehow.

“That piece of shit? Definitly Roy’s,” Chato said, pointing his thumb over at the man. Roy took a moment to look slightly offended. He had only known Chato for half a day, but somehow Roy was already the butt of his jokes. Did he have a sign over him that just read ‘punching bag’?

“She’s not a piece of shit! Only I get to call her that!” Roy was on the defensive. Jackson was hiding his laughter with his hand.

“I was actually hoping to get a look under the hood? I run the auto shop down the road, name’s Artemis.” She held her hand out for Roy to shake and he accepted, if not a little hesitantly.

“She’s not for sale, just drove her across the country for sake of keeping her.”

Artemis put her hands up and cocked her hip.

“Not saying I want to buy her, just look. I’m a big Honda nut.”

Roy pointed at Tatsu and told her she was in charge. He led the stranger out to his car and popped the hood. Artemis looked around in the engine for a while, Roy both proud of the work he had done on his own car, but also very concerned that he was letting a complete stranger poke around his engine.

“You said you drove this thing across the country? How many miles is on it?”

Roy explained that the odometer had stopped working roughly three years ago, and he had never found the time or money to fix it. If he had to guess, maybe 450,000.

“This cannot be the original engine.”

Roy found himself talking to Artemis about his car until he saw Garth pull up with lunch.

“Who is this?” Garth signed from behind Artemis’ back.

“Ah, looks like the boss is back,” Roy said, quickly wondering how long he had been chatting with this woman. “This is Artemis, she runs the auto shop down the road.” Roy gestured awkwardly as Garth loaded his arms with carboard boxes full of takeout boxes.

“It was good talking with you, if you ever get tired of this place, you should come interview at the shop.”

“Oh, I uh, I don’t have a lot of formal training, and I think my certification is expired,” Roy explained.

Artemis waved her hand up and down, “Don’t worry about that nonsense, come and interview. Hope you don’t mind I’m poaching your employees.” She gave Garth a smirk.

“Please, take him, he’s free.” Artemis laughed and waved her goodbyes as she stuck her other hand in her jacket. Roy walked back into the tattoo shop with the food as Harley picked her face off the glass where she had been pressed against it to watch Artemis leave.

“You get her number?” Harley asked, eyebrows dancing.

“Harley, don’t you have a girlfriend?” Jackson asked as he grabbed his order out of the box.

“Yeah, but she don’t mind sharing.”

“I did not get her number, I don’t think I even remember how to do that,” Roy said, stabbing into the Chow Mein in front of him. Roy tried to think of the last date he had been on. Was it that terrible tinder hook-up or the equally awful blind date Connor had set him up on? Both of those could easily have been two years ago.

“What do you mean you don’t remember?” Harley’s eyes were wide and her mouth hanging open. She looked so scandalized that Roy remembered to be slightly embarrassed about not knowing when the last date he went on was.

“I, uh, I haven’t really been on that many dates the last six years.”

Between getting clean and raising his daughter, he hadn’t had a lot of time for romantic pursuits. Garth and Jackson shared a knowing look. Roy knew that look. It was the look that usually came before one of them launched into a speech about how it was okay to be single. Roy really hoped they would spare him this once.

“You into guys or gals?” Harley asked, looking at her phone, presumably scrolling through her contacts.

“Don’t have a preference, but I really don’t want to get set up with anyone, I’m good. I’ve got to worry about Lian starting school first.” Roy knew Lian wasn’t looking forward to school that much. Even with her avoiding the subject every time it got brought up, Roy knew she was a lot like him. She was too smart with not enough attention span. He just hoped he wouldn’t be coming to the school as much as he had been in Star. She tended to be a lot for most teachers to handle.

Harley frowned at him, but placed her phone on the table anyway. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

“Please don’t go out with anyone Harley suggests, for your own sanity,” Chato mumbled into his food.

 Roy chuckled. They finished their food, with the conversation thankfully being derailed with Harley telling them a lot of stories about the people she knew that Roy prayed were only, at most, half true. They had the shop organized by the time they left, and Jackson climbed into Roy’s car. Jackson’s boyfriend, Miguel, had been watching Lian and Cerdian while Dolphin ran errands. Jackson had been more than happy about moving to Gotham, as that was where Miguel was currently going to school.

“So, are you going to take that Artemis person up on her offer?” He asked, flipping through the radio stations. Roy swatted his hand away from the dial when Jackson tried to flip past Pearl Jam. Roy didn’t know how to answer his question, but it wasn’t every day an opportunity literally walked up to you.

When they got to Miguel’s apartment, they could hear Lian’s giggles from outside. Roy opened the door and found Miguel wrapped in a blanket with what looked like a pot on his head, holding a broom. Lian and Cerdian were both running around the small living area, throwing what looked like rolled up socks at Miguel. When Lian caught sight of her father, she ran up to him and gave him a hug around his knees that nearly toppled him.

“Miguel is so fun, dad! Can he watch us all the time?” She begged. She turned to Cerdian and asked him if he wanted Miguel to watch them all the time. Cerdian’s eyes lit up and his face turned into one huge smile as he said yes.

“Well, I’m sure Miguel would be happy to,” Roy said, peering over at Miguel who signed ‘of course’. Jackson walked over to his boyfriend with a smirk on his face and flicked the pot on his head.

“Anytime, really. Well except for weekdays, my course load is a little heavier than I thought it would be. Serves me right, taking Tim’s advice.” Miguel gave Jackson a kiss on his forehead. “How does the shop look?”

“Looks almost respectable,” Roy joked. “Thank you again, for watching the kids. I know they can be a handful.”

“They were good! Even if communication was a little rough sometimes,” Miguel gave Lian a wink, “Luckily your daughter is an excellent interpreter.”

“Miguel speaks Spanish, just like Kyle!” Lian said, bounding on the balls of her feet. Roy smiled at his daughter. She was very good at languages, even at nine. Roy wished he was the same way, but he supposed it came with the territory of who Lian was raised by. Jade was always insistent on speaking Vietnamese with Lian, and she had come to learn ASL almost better than him.

“That’s pretty cool, did you learn any new words?” Roy asked, Lian trying to balance on his feet.

“Yeah!” Lian explained how she had learned the words for ‘wizard’ and a couple other fantasy words. Roy nodded along with her story.

Cerdian looked tired. Roy asked him if he was ready to go home. Cerdian told him yes, then rubbed at his eyes a bit. Roy bid Miguel and Jackson farewell and managed to wrangle the kids into their car seats. The ride home was filled with Lian recounting her entire day while Cerdian dropped into sleep.

 

\--

 

“Do I have to go to school?” Lian pouted. She was currently standing next to the door, her backpack on the ground and her coat only hanging onto her by her shoulder. Roy had forgotten how hectic getting Lian ready for school was.

“Yes, you have to go to school,” Roy said, slipping her lunch box into her hand and trying to get her to put on her backpack. He pulled out his phone. “Can you smile so I can send your mom a first day of school picture?” Lian pulled her lips back into a grimace; it was Lian’s signature ‘I’m not getting my way’ smile. Roy snapped the picture anyway.

“Mom said she would call before school.”

Roy looked at his daughter and tried to put on his best dad face.

“Well, your mom lives in a very different time zone, now. She might be late for her lunch, but that doesn’t mean she loves you any less.” Roy looked at his phone praying to whatever deity would listen that Jade hadn’t forgotten.

“Can’t I drop out like you did?”

“Lian, you’re only nine. When you’re fifteen we’ll talk again, okay,” Roy said, inwardly wishing he wasn’t always so honest with his daughter.

“But what if no one likes me?”

“I’m sure some of the other kids will like you, sweetheart.”

“But what if-,” Lian’s next objection was cut short by Roy’s phone ringing. Roy quickly answered it. He greeted Jade and then handed the phone to Lian. Lian’s face lit up as she spoke to her mother in Vietnamese. Roy caught about a third of what his daughter was saying. After a couple minutes, Lian handed the phone back to Roy.

“Mom says she wants to talk to you.”

Roy reluctantly took the phone from his daughter’s small hands and put it up to his ear.

“Roy, you know I’m sorry I’m not there.”

“Uh huh.”

“She’s just worried she won’t make any friends.”

“I know.” Roy heard Jade sigh. He waited for her to say something else as he led Lian through the door to walk her down to the bus stop. Lian held onto his hand a little tighter than usual, and he gently squeezed back.

“I think she’s going to be fine. She’s our daughter after all, she’ll find a way.”

Roy hoped that was true. “That she is. Alright, Jade, thanks for calling her.” Jade wished him a good day and he slid his phone into his pocket.

They got to the bus stop at the end of the street. Wally was there and gave Roy a quick glance before hesitantly waving. He was standing with a few of the other parents as their kids chatted and giggled together. Lian inched closer to Roy and squeezed his hand tight. Some of the kids looked over at Lian, but Lian hid behind her father. The bus pulled up and the kids started to pile onto it, some of them waving to their parents and getting last minute hugs.

“You’re going to be fine, sweetheart,” Roy said, squatting down to Lian’s level to place a hand on her shoulder. Lian’s eyes were a little wet. “You are the bravest little girl I know. Think of it like a new adventure.” Lian nodded and gripped the arrowhead that was tied around her neck. Roy pulled out his own and smiled. Connor had made Lian an arrowhead necklace that matched his and Roy’s when Lian first met him.

“I love you daddy,” Lian said, wrapping her arms around Roy. Roy pulled her close and gave her a kiss on her head.

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

Lian pulled away from her father and ran up into the bus, the door closing a few minutes later. Roy watched the bus pull away and tucked his necklace back under his tank top.

“First day at a new school is tough, huh?” Wally said, walking up to Roy. Roy nodded. “Yeah, Irey and Jai’s first day at school was tough, but kids are tough.”

Some of the other parents were looking curiously at Roy. Roy suddenly felt very aware of his messy hair and tattoo-riddled arms and chest. Wally looked like he was going to try to fit the word ‘tough’ into another eight sentences, so Roy quickly removed himself.

“Well, gotta get ready for work, good seeing you again.” Roy turned around with a wave and walked a little faster than his usual pace back to the house. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He looked at the message from Jade that had come in.

‘Cute!’ was all it said, in response to the picture Roy had sent. Another text came in. ‘She looks more and more like us every day.’ Roy scrolled up to the picture of his daughter. He could see Jade’s eyes, hair, and complexion, but he could never see why Jade thought she looked like him. He knew he got stares a lot, when he had his daughter with him. ‘She definitely has your smile.’

Roy snorted and texted back. ‘Smartass.’ He tried not to miss Jade in that moment. They hadn’t been together romantically for years, but she was still one of his best friends, despite their hardships. He reminded himself to ask how her job was going later.

He walked into the house as Garth walked out of his room, wrapped in a towel and groggily reached for the coffee Roy had made earlier.

“You’re always so pretty in the mornings,” Roy laughed.

Garth flipped him off.

“You going in like that today? That’ll definitely drum up some walk-in business.”

“I can’t make this seem like the new dress code, Harley will want in on it.”

 

\--

 

The day at the shop was quiet. Their official grand opening was on Friday, so Roy was mostly checking in a few already made appointments for Harley and Tatsu. Garth had taken a couple walk-ins, both of whom simply chose some flash art. Jackson looked bored out of his mind as he scribbled some sketches next to Roy. Chato apparently took Sundays and Mondays off. Roy wondered if the whole week would be like this.

So, Roy found himself wandering down the street, looking at the various shops that were close by. He tried to take his mind off worrying about Lian’s first day, but the fact that he hadn’t gotten a call yet meant that she was at least trying. He found himself in front of an auto shop, presumably Artemis’. He tightened his grip on the resume he had printed out at the shop and pushed open the door. He was greeted by a rather large man at the front desk, rolling some putty around in his hand as he stared at a computer screen. Roy waved and gave a half smile. He wasn’t sure what his plan was, but luckily he was stopped from having to formulate one as Artemis walked out from the back, her coveralls smeared with oil and her long hair pulled into a complicated bun.

“Roy,” She greeted, wiping her hands off on a towel, “Tired of the boss already?”

Roy chuckled. “Ah, you know, could always use a little extra income.”

“Always true.” She grabbed the resume from him and gave it a look. Roy shuffled his feet a bit.

“Who the hell are you talking to?” Roy heard a man’s voice call from the work area.

Artemis rolled her eyes. “Come out here and help me with an interview!”

“Oh, am I getting interviewed now? I would have changed.” Roy looked down at his shop attire. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt with the shop’s logo on it. Artemis waved her hand, reassuring him that he looked fine. From the back walked a guy who was probably a few years younger than Roy.

“Is this the guy with the ’91 you were talking about?”

“Yeah, the one with the custom manual conversion.”

The guy looked impressed. Roy puffed his chest out a little, particularly proud of that accomplishment. It had taken him a week and more money than Roy was willing to admit to swap everything out.

The guy held his hand out to Roy.

“I’m Jason. This shop would fall apart without me.”

Roy snorted and shook his hand.

“Roy.”

“He gives himself too much credit. I keep him around for manual labor only,” Artemis said. Jason placed a hand over his heart. “This is Biz, he works the counter,” Artemis motioned to the man at the computer.

Roy smiled and raised his hand in greeting again. Biz waved, but didn’t take his eyes off the screen. Jason leaned himself against the wall and Artemis motioned for Roy to sit down in the small waiting area. He took a seat, trying to figure out how he had walked into an interview.

“So, what’s your schedule like?” Jason asked.

“Uh, well, the shop just opened, but other than this weekend, my hours are pretty sporadic.” Roy knew that Jackson was covering the shifts that Roy didn’t work, since Jackson didn’t have a chair yet. Honestly, Roy was pretty sure Arthur had only hired him years ago because he felt bad for him, and Garth was just trying to help his friend. “Also, I try to be home around 4 most days, so I can be home before my daughter.” Roy flinched, knowing he shouldn’t mention that he had a kid in an interview, but for some reason he felt pretty at ease with these people already. That usually led to Roy oversharing.

“That makes sense, I think we could work around that,” Artemis said, looking through what Roy assumed to be a schedule of some kind in a notebook. “I’m mostly looking for someone to help out with four hour shifts anyway. Last new hire was a flake. She was also a little disturbed I think.” She shot Jason a look and he put his hands up defensively.

“How was I supposed to know she would try to rob the place? She seemed nice enough!”

Roy’s eyes widened a bit.

“Well, that’s why I’m doing the hiring this time.” Artemis turned back to him, “He’s a terrible judge of character.”

“Must be why I’m friends with you,” Jason mumbled.

Roy laughed, their bantering reminding him of his own friendship with Garth.

“So, you said your certification might be an issue, but it looks like from what you have on your resume we can sort that all out within the week.”

“You say that like I have the job already,” Roy said, confusedly looking between everyone in the shop.

“Well, if you want it, it’s yours. Won’t be a lot of hours to start with, but I talked to you long enough the other day to know you know what you’re talking about.”

Roy could physically feel himself fighting between being proud of himself and overly self-critical.

“I’ll still ring your old bosses for a quick reference check. Just to make you a little nervous.”

“It’s working,” Roy laughed.

“Anyway, I’ve got some papers you can fill out, so I can do a background check. New policy,” Artemis said, staring directly at Jason. He seemed to ignore her. “Anything I should know about before I have you fill them out?”

And here was the moment Roy had been dreading.

“I have, uh, some drug charges from years back, and a few juvie offenses that I couldn’t seal,” Roy explained honestly. He looked at the floor and tried to prepare himself for rejection.

“I assume you’re clean now?” Artemis asked.

“I’m five years sober, two months ago,” Roy said, shocked that she hadn’t immediately turned him out the door. “I haven’t gotten anything worse than a parking ticket in six years.”

“Doesn’t sound like anything too troubling then,” She handed him the papers. Roy had to hold in his shock. “At least you don’t have attempted arson or battery, like some people.” She shot Jason another look.

“Hey, it was self-defense,” Jason shot back.

Roy smiled as he filled out the paperwork given to him. Maybe life was going to start going his way. Artemis told him to come in again once he got his certification sorted and the background check came through. He sat and chatted with them for a few more minutes before excusing himself to go back to the tattoo shop.

“See you on Monday!” Jason called as he walked out the door. Roy felt his steps get lighter as he walked back down the street.

“Did you get food?” Garth asked as he walked back inside the shop. Jackson looked up in hope.

“Actually, I got a job,” Roy said, the words sounding ridiculous even to his own ears. Garth clapped him on the back with a smile.

“They hired you on the spot?” Jackson asked, “Dang, that’s so great!”

“It means you’re going to be at the counter more, though,” Roy teased.

“Maybe I can get Miguel to come work on weekends,” Jackson said, looking at Garth.

“And lose our new favorite babysitter? Not on your life,” Garth said.

Jackson pouted, but it earned a chuckle from Roy.

The rest of the day went by smoothly, with Roy only having to explain to one person why no one in the shop would tattoo the heel of their foot. When 3:30 rolled around, Roy took off back home to await Lian’s bus home.

He had just sat down on the couch when Lian walked through the front door. She threw her backpack and jacket onto the floor dramatically and kicked off her shoes. Roy stared at her as she flopped down onto the couch next to him.

“You wanna talk about it?”

Lian sighed, her whole body sighing with her. “School sucks.”

“I hear you,” Roy replied as Lian snuggled into his side, “Did you learn anything?”

“No, the teacher made us all get to know each other.” Lian rolled her eyes. Roy snorted. “It was dumb. Do I really have to do that every day?”

“Well, you’ll probably start lessons tomorrow,” Roy said. He swung his arm around her, pulling her a little closer. “I got a second job today.” Lian looked up at him. “I’m going to be working at an auto shop close to Garth’s parlor.”

“Cool!” Lian said excitedly. She frowned after a moment, her eyes full of worry, “Are you still gonna be home when I am?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” Roy hugged Lian. He thought about how much he loved her. She was getting bigger and smarter with every day, but he never took these moments for granted. He kissed her forehead. “You want to give Uncle Connor a call?” Lian nodded eagerly and Roy pulled his phone out.

“Can we do the video call?” Lian asked, reaching for Roy’s phone. He handed it to her, nodding, and she quickly placed the call. It rang for a few minutes before Connor’s face took up the screen. His brother was smiling, and Lian’s face lit up.

“Hello, Lian, how was school?”

“It was boring and I hated it,” Lian answered.

“Wonder where you get that from,” Connor said.

“Is Kyle with you?” Lian asked. The screen shuffled for a minute and Kyle came into view. He was sitting at his desk, a bunch of papers strewn about as he drew.

“Say hi to my niece, Kyle,” Connor said. Kyle turned towards Connor and waved at Lian. Lian smiled and waved back, the phone bouncing around in her other hand.

“How’s Grandpa Ollie?” Lian asked. By the way Connor’s face ran through about ten emotions in two seconds, Roy figured there had been new family drama.

“He’s good, he misses you,” Connor said. Roy was grateful for everyone sticking to the ‘don’t tell Lian about every piece of family drama’ rule.

“When are you going to visit?”

“Maybe next month Lian, for your dad’s birthday,” Connor said. Roy had forgotten he got one of those. He was still recovering from planning Lian’s birthday party in August. Lian squealed with joy. They chatted a little while longer, until Dolphin and Cerdian came in with Garth.

“Hello, Connor,” Garth said as Roy’s phone was haphazardly transferred into his hands. Garth handed the phone to Roy as Lian and Cerdian excitedly started talking about Cerdian’s day at school. Roy transferred the call to audio only and excused himself to his room.

“So, what’s going on with Ollie now?” He heard Connor let out a long sigh. “That bad, huh?”

“It’s nothing more than usual, dad’s just all over the place. One day he’s drafting love letters to Dinah over a bottle of rum and then next he’s either saying he’s going to buy Hal a car or join a monastery.” Roy laughed at that. “But mostly I’m just worried for when he comes to terms with the fact that she’s not coming back this time.”

“He hasn’t already?”

“Roy, you know as well as I do what their relationship has been like. He keeps talking about future plans with her and…” Connor sighed, more sadly this time, “I know he hasn’t seen Sin in like a month, and Dinah barely returns my calls anymore. The only info I’ve been getting is from Mia. Emi hasn’t even called me in two weeks.” Roy knew that the burden of trying to keep the family civil with each other was weighing on Connor. He felt a twinge of guilt for not helping more, but he knew he was protecting his own sanity. And sobriety.

“You don’t have to keep tabs on everyone, you know. Ollie is a grown man who needs to figure out how to deal with the repercussions of his actions. And if Dinah needs some space, I don’t blame her.”

“I’m pretty sure she’s just mad at me for not saying anything to her about the affair.”

“You didn’t know that’s what was happening, Connor, don’t blame yourself.” Roy sighed. Roy knew more about Ollie’s affair than anyone, but he hadn’t told anyone. He hadn’t felt like it was his place. Connor didn’t even know that Dinah had been seeing someone new months before she filed for divorce. Roy didn’t like getting in the middle of their fights. He also didn’t like burdening Connor with secrets.

“You’re the smart one, you know. Running off across the country.”

“It’s worked out for me so far,” Roy joked. He told Connor a bit about what had been happening, how he got a second job, Garth’s new shop, Dolphin’s job. He expressed his worries about Lian, but Connor had just reassured him that she would be fine. It wasn’t until Dolphin knocked on his doorframe that Roy realized he had been talking to his brother for nearly an hour.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” She said from the door way.

“Be right there, sorry Dol,” He replied. “Gotta go, Connor, I’ll talk to you later.” Connor said goodbye and Roy hung up the call. He didn’t realize how much he would miss living with his brother, but after hanging up the call, his heart felt heavy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everything was clear!  
> I wasn't kidding when I said slow burn, Dick isn't even in this chapter!


	2. Making Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lian gets into a fight at school. Roy joins the PTA.

Two weeks went by without a lot of incident. Things at _Atlantis_ had picked up, their grand opening coming with a flash art sale. Word had gotten out about the shop, and Roy had been setting up appointments months out for every artist. Dolphin came home every day with some new story about work, and Cerdian seemed almost sad when he had to come home he liked school so much. Roy had started at Artemis’ shop, which mostly came with oil change duty. He didn’t mind it; Jason and Artemis were great to talk to, or ‘at’ as they insisted. His neighbors still tried to talk to him all the time, though, which Roy could do without.

Lian was still quiet about school, which made Roy worry a lot. She hadn’t mentioned a single name of any of her classmates, or talked about liking her teacher more than once. The few times she even mentioned something outside of her default ‘school sucks’ response was when they had learned something cool in science. Roy was starting to think he should have considered a different school for her.

“Don’t they have a gifted program?” Jason asked one day after Roy was venting about his daughter, “I remember them having a gifted program.”

“She is in the gifted program,” Roy rolled out from under the car he was working on, “And she still comes home saying basically nothing about school and being bored the whole time.” Roy threw his gloves off as he sat up on the creeper he was using.

“I remember loving school,” Jason said, leaning against a set of drawers.

“I hated it. Couldn’t wait to leave and dropped out at fifteen.” Jason looked personally offended at his statement. “Don’t look at me like that, I got my GED, clearly.”

“Have you ever thought that maybe she doesn’t like school because of that?”

“She has plenty of other, better role models in her life that finished school just fine.”

“Yeah, but you’re her dad. She probably looks up to you, wants to emulate you.” Jason looked down at his shoes, brushing off some dirt on his pants.

“Speaking from experience?” Roy prodded. Jason flipped Roy off. “So that’s a yes,” Roy said with a laugh. Then Roy’s cell phone rang. He looked at the number and visibly paled. He answered as Jason rose an eyebrow.

“Hello? Yes, this is him,” Roy paused for a good long while. “She what? Yes, I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’m so sorry. Yes. Yes, I know it’s unacceptable behavior. Yes, I’ll be there in twenty.” Roy hung up the phone and quickly stood up.

“Who was that?”

“Lian’s school. She got into a fight, is it okay if I take off? I know we’ve got a lot of—”

“Of course, it’s fine, I’ll call Artemis. Go,” Jason said, making a shooing motion at Roy.

Roy didn’t wait for Jason to change his mind as he grabbed his keys from the rack and gave Biz a quick good bye. He hopped into his car and started the engine. He had been worried about this. Lian had gotten into a few schoolyard scuffles in Star. She had even been suspended for a few days after one of them. Roy knew that the fights happened because Lian was standing up for other kids, or herself. He knew she had inherited her mother’s hot streak, and his own sense of justice, but he had hoped that those days were behind them. She had gone to several therapy sessions and she had calmed down for a little while. Maybe he should have found someone out here for her to talk to. Maybe Lilith could do telephone consults.

Roy pulled into the school parking lot. He dug around in the trunk of his car, pulling out a dress shirt he had stashed there and unbuckling his coveralls. Roy sighed and tried to press down the wrinkles in his shirt as he walked into the school building. He took a few deep breaths and tried to push the negative thoughts from his mind.

Roy pushed open the door to the office. He took another deep breath. Maybe this was what Ollie had felt like every time he had had to go down to the school because Roy had gotten into another fight. He stopped that train of thought because the thought of being anything like Ollie made his skin crawl. There was a receptionist at the desk, hurriedly typing on the computer, her eyes darting from one screen to the other, paying him no mind. Suddenly Roy felt like he was a kid again, being tossed into the principal’s office because no teacher wanted to deal with him. He tried to push down all the memories and comparisons and released a long breath.

“Uh, I’m Roy Harper, Lian’s dad?” Roy said, his voice a bit too quiet. The receptionist continued typing on her keyboard, the clacking of the keystrokes the only sound in the small front office. He cleared his throat. “I’m here to speak to the principal about my daughter?” The receptionist looked at him with a forced smile.

“Right through that door, the office to the left,” she pointed him down the hallway. Roy tried not to notice as she quickly flicked her eyes over his appearance. Roy tried to smooth the wrinkles in his shirt self-consciously. His hair was up in a messy bun and not for the first time today he had wished he had cut it. Roy smiled and gave a thank you to the woman as he walked past her desk. As soon as he walked into the hallway, he saw Lian and another girl sitting a few seats apart from each other. They both had their arms crossed in front of them with almost matching pouts on their faces as they pointedly looked away from each other. Roy had to remind himself he was a parent before he let out an inappropriate chuckle or something.

“Lian,” Roy said, trying to keep his tone stern. Lian’s head jolted up so her eyes could meet Roy’s. He saw the remnants of a bloody nose and a bruise forming on her temple. He stopped himself from looking to see if the other girl had it worse. This wasn’t about who won, it was about the fact that it happened at all. He was going to keep chanting that in his head.

“You must be Roy.” Roy turned at the sound of his name and was met with a wider-set woman. She held out her hand. “I’m Vice-Principal Amanda Waller, please come in.” Roy shook her hand and walked into the office, sending Lian one more look before the door closed.

“Took you long enough to get here,” Huffed out a man’s voice. Roy whipped his head around to look at who he assumed would be the father of the other girl. Roy was met with a deep frown and angry blue eyes. Roy winced a little at the expression on the other man’s face.

“I work across town,” Roy started to explain, “I’m sorry, I really did get here as quickly as I could.”

“Gentlemen, I have no intention of breaking up a fight between you two as well,” Waller explained. Both the men apologized.

Roy held out his hand, hoping to broker some sort of civility between them. “I’m Roy Harper, wish I was meeting you under better circumstances.”

“Richard Grayson,” The other replied curtly, shaking Roy’s hand with a little more force than necessary. He broke off the handshake with a half-smirk. Roy took his hand back and tried his best not to massage it.

“Now the first punch was thrown by your daughter, Mr. Harper,” Waller explained. Roy grimaced. Richard opened his mouth to say something, but Waller put her hand up to silence the man. “However, it appears that Mar’i was verbally inciting the fight.” Roy stood up a little straighter and folded his arms. Where had this sense of competitiveness come from? Dick’s face seemed to lose some of its original anger.

“Usually a fight of this magnitude would be grounds for suspension for at least a week, but after talking to the girls, I’ve decided to instead pair them up for a sort of in-school suspension, so they don’t get behind on their lessons.”

“That sounds like a great plan,” Roy said, relieved that Lian wouldn’t be kicked out.

“However,” Waller continued, “I also recommend that you take the girls home for the day, and perhaps talk with them.” She looked pointedly at Dick. Roy wondered if Mar’i had the same types of problems with fights that Lian did.

“Is pairing them up really going to solve anything?” Dick asked. “Wouldn’t it just make another fight more inevitable?”

“I believe that these girls are going through many of the same things, just from talking with them the little bit that I did. They seem genuinely sorry, if only a little.”

“I think it sounds like a great idea,” Roy said, feeling slightly less anxious, “I mean, I made my best friend by punching him in the face.” Roy immediately shut his mouth as Richard sent him an angry glare.

“Maybe that’s not the best example to set for your daughter.”

“I didn’t mean I was encouraging her to punch people to make friends, just that sometimes—”

“Okay, Mr. Harper, I’m going to stop you before you put your foot any farther into your mouth,” Waller said, holding up a hand. Roy shut his mouth very quickly. “Now go collect your daughters and make sure you drop them off thirty minutes before school starts tomorrow.” They both agreed, and Richard checked Roy’s shoulder as he stomped through the door. Roy was tempted to tell the man that maybe his own anger issues were rubbing off on his daughter. He decided against it.

“Come on,” Roy said, motioning for Lian to get up off the bench. Lian looked at the ground as she got up. Roy put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently as he scooted her towards the door.

“—don’t listen to Damian,” Roy heard Richard say as they walked out of the office hallway.

“Roy.”

He turned at his name being spoken, and Amanda was standing there with a brightly colored flyer in her hands.

“Here’s an invitation to the next PTA meeting.” Roy took the invitation and shoved it into his back pocket.

“I’ll take that as a strong suggestion,” He laughed. Amanda’s face didn’t move. “Right, um, have a good day.”

They walked outside, and Roy noticed Richard and Mar’i getting into a very nice Lexus. He unlocked his car doors and Lian climbed into the back, still not looking at him. He turned on the car and started the drive back to the house. Roy kept checking the rearview mirror, but Lian was just staring out the car window. Roy remembered the screaming matches that he and Ollie used to have on the way home. Ollie would raise his voice more and Roy would only take it as initiative to yell louder. Lian, though, was always quiet on the rides home. Roy tried to respect her quiet contemplation.

When they pulled into the driveway, Roy sent out a quick text to Artemis to apologize for making her come in to work. His phone pinged back almost immediately with her reply of ‘no worries’ followed by ‘you owe me lunch and my Saturday shift’.

“Come on, let’s go inside.” Roy opened Lian’s car door and waited for her to get out. She stayed put. “Lian,” Roy said.

“Can’t we just drive around more?” Lian looked up at him quickly before staring at her lap again. He sighed, but got back into the driver’s seat. As he was pulling out of the driveway, he saw Wally staring at the car from his front porch. He tried not to let it bother him.

“So, you want to tell me your side of the story?” Roy looked into the rearview mirror and saw Lian fiddling with the zipper of her backpack.

“It wasn’t a real fight,” Lian said eventually. “Everybody just made it out to be one.”

“Sweetheart, you have a bloody lip, clearly there was a fight.”

“Yeah, but she wanted to fight!” Lian said, her eyes wide and her hands up. “She said her brother had taught her some fighting moves and she wanted to try them out.”

“Did you explain this to anyone?”

“Vice Principal Waller.” Lian was looking at her lap. “I know I shouldn’t have, but she kept saying that maybe I didn’t know how to fight.”

“So, you punched her out of anger?”

“Maybe,” Lian said, her voice quiet.

“Don’t you remember what Lilith used to say?”

“Take a breath and talk it out,” Lian said as she made air quotes. “I know, dad. I’m sorry.”

“Well, let’s see how the next week goes. That will show me how sorry you actually are.” Roy hated not telling her it was okay, not forgiving her immediately. He stayed strong though. “Why did she single you out?”

“She heard a rumor about me,” Lian said, crossing her arms. Roy had hoped that no rumors would follow them across the country, but he supposed that kids liked to make up ones of their own. “Everybody thinks you were in a gang or something, that’s why we moved here.”

Roy was torn between wanting to laugh and wanting to cry.

“How did that rumor start?”

“I don’t know, no one even talks to me.” Lian slid down in her seat as much as the seatbelt would allow.

“Well, maybe you’ll be able to make some friends after your week of in-school suspension is up.” Lian became quiet again as Roy circled back to their neighborhood. When they arrived back home, Roy gave Lian a fresh ice pack and she went to her room, shutting the door. Roy sat down on the couch and closed his eyes. Maybe he would just sit here in meditation for a moment, like Connor always told him to do.

 

\--

 

“Are you baking?” Garth asked as he walked into the kitchen. He stuck a finger in the cookie dough that was sitting on the counter. Roy tried to bat his hand away, but Garth had already stuck the finger into his mouth. “Wow, this is edible.”

“Thanks for the high praise.” Roy pulled a tray out of the oven and set it on the stove. Lian had been sitting in her room all day, reading. Roy had taken away her tv privileges and told her she couldn’t go with Garth, Dolphin, and Cerdian to the pool that afternoon. Roy had been staring at the PTA invitation all weekend, and Jason had suggested baking cookies for the meeting on Monday. He could be a model father, right? People couldn’t think he was irreputable if he bought them off with baked goods. Okay, maybe not a model father.

“What are they for?” Dolphin asked as Cerdian raced past her on the way to his room.

“PTA meeting.”

Garth and Dolphin stared at him for moment before bursting into laughter.

“You guys are the best friends, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“Sorry, Roy,” Dolphin said, trying to compose herself, but her signing was messy from the silent laughter raking through her body.

“Karen from next door asked me if I was going to the meeting yesterday after she saw the flyer on my dashboard,” Roy explained. “Then she volunteered me to make something after I told her yes.”

“Look at you, talking to the neighbors,” Garth said.

Roy shot him a frown.

“So, you decided to bake?”

“You say that like I never bake.”

“We did end up giving the neighbors across the street store bought cinnamon rolls, so forgive me if I’m shocked,” Garth said.

Roy looked at the tray of cookies in front of him and grabbed one. He broke it in half and handed a piece to Dolphin. She looked at it for a moment before gently taking a nibble. After a few drawn out seconds of chewing, she quickly devoured the rest of it.

“It’s good!”

“See? I can do it all.” Roy leaned against the counter triumphantly. Garth grabbed the other piece from Roy’s hand.

“How is Lian doing?” Dolphin asked, her face full of worry.

“She’s been in her room all day, quiet. Only said four words to me when I made her lunch and then went right back.” Roy looked down the hall. Lian was usually an upbeat kid, it was hard for him to figure out what to do when she wouldn’t talk to him.

“Like yesterday, then,” Dolphin said. “She’s probably just worried about the next week at school. She should perk up again soon.”

“Maybe,” Roy said.  

“She will. This is just how normal kids act when they’re being punished.”

“Oh, you mean they don’t usually steal their foster dad’s car and drive it around the city yelling ‘Oliver Queen is a punk ass bitch’?” Roy asked.

“No, that’s only you, but it was a good time,” Garth said.

Roy tried to force out a chuckle, but he couldn’t, despite making the joke. He kept thinking about what Lian had said, how the other kids were already spreading rumors about him. He didn’t believe for a second any of the kids had come up with the rumor on their own. He knew it had to be the parents. He thought about how many people he saw on a daily basis, between the neighbors on his morning runs and working both of his jobs, and he figured that someone had seen him and been rubbed the wrong way.

“Hey, Earth to Roy,” Dolphin said, placing herself right in front of him. He snapped his attention back to his friends. “I’m sure the other parents will be blown away by your cookies. It’ll probably stop the rumors dead in their tracks.”

Roy smiled; Dolphin always seemed to know exactly what he was thinking.

“Thank you.”

 

\--

 

He tried to get through the next day of work with Dolphin’s words in mind, but still found himself venting about it to Jason.

“I bet it was that guy across the street. He’s always staring at me funny. Also, he was probably offended by our store-bought cinnamon rolls. That’s a suburban thing, right? Getting offended over store-bought baked goods?” Roy handed Jason a wrench.

“You talk a lot,” Jason said, grunting as he tried to tighten something in the engine.

“I’ve been told.”

“Listen, people talk. Don’t let it get to you.”

“It always gets to me. Hell, half the fights I got into when I was younger were about what people thought of me. Now it’s affecting Lian, and I don’t even know what to do about that. She was so reluctant to get out of the car this morning.”

“You know, I’m not your therapist,” Jason said as he stood up from the car. “Look, pretty much everyone in this town knows someone who knows everyone else. Maybe you should aim that big mouth at someone else, make a friend.”

“I made a friend.”

“I don’t count,” Jason huffed, closing the hood of the car he was working on. “Besides, isn’t ‘friend’ a bit presumptuous?”

“You know how to wound a man,” Roy said, clutching his chest. “Also, why don’t you count?”

“I don’t talk to anyone that doesn’t work in this shop.”

“Surely you have a family.”

“Yeah, that’s why I don’t talk to anyone outside this shop.” Roy tried to suppress his laughter, but it wasn’t working. “Don’t laugh at me, I’ve got a big family with even bigger drama.”

“Oh, wow, I feel that,” Roy said, suddenly realizing he hadn’t texted Connor yet today. He missed his brother. “You got brothers?”

“Yeah, four of them, and a sister.” Jason’s face gave away that he cared for them, leading Roy to believe that he talked to them more than he let on. “What about you?”

“My family is…complicated,” Roy said, “I’ve got four siblings too, sort of.”

Jason looked at Roy for a moment, like he was trying to figure something out. Roy stared back at him and raised an eyebrow. Jason shook his head and got back to work on the car in front of him. Roy tried to fill the silence with more rambling, between when he had to run up to the counter to greet anyone who came in. Eventually, Jason shooed him out of the shop, telling him to go home for the day since it was slow.

He tried to pass the time before he had to go pick up Lian with another run, but he only made it around the block before he headed back to the house. He couldn’t stop thinking about how Lian was doing. Hopefully she would warm up to everyone. Maybe Jason was right, maybe he should try to make friends. That would encourage Lian to make friends, too, right?

When he pulled up to the school he saw the Lexus from the other day. Roy contemplated turning the car back on and driving away, but his fatherly instincts kicked in, reminding him that he had to pick up his daughter. He took a deep breath and got out the car. He could hear laughter coming from the office as he walked into the school, and was surprised when he opened the door to see Richard Grayson leaning against a desk with his head thrown back in laughter. Roy took a moment to appreciate seeing the man’s features without the anger.

“Oh, Zinda, you’re terrible,” He said between breaths.

“I’m just saying, she hasn’t changed since college,” The receptionist from the other day, apparently Zinda, laughed. She caught sight of Roy walking into the office and composed herself. “Good afternoon, Mr. Harper.”

Roy waved awkwardly as Richard whipped his head to look at the man. His face flexed through a variety of emotions and Roy had to stop himself from laughing at how expressive he was. Just as he was about to open his mouth, Amanda came walking out of a door with Mar’i and Lian in tow.

“It was a good day,” She announced.

Roy looked at his daughter and she was smiling.

“Dad! Lian is actually really cool! She’s so smart! And she knows like a thousand languages!” Mar’i said excitedly as she bounced over to her father. Richard smiled at her. Roy ripped his eyes away from the man’s beaming face to look at his own daughter.

“It’s not a thousand,” Lian mumbled, her cheeks turning a bit pink.

“They did very well together. I think that we won’t have any more problems here on out.” Amanda gave Roy what could pass as a friendly smile. “I hope to see you both tonight at the PTA meeting.”

“Of course, Ma’am,” Roy said. Amanda gave him a nod before walking back to her office.

Roy held out his hand for Lian to take. She grabbed onto it and waved goodbye to Mar’i as they walked to the car.

“You made a friend, I see.”

“Maybe, she’s really nice,” Lian said. She climbed into the back seat and tried to hide her smile. “I hope I can be her friend. I apologized for punching her so hard.”

Roy laughed at his daughter’s wording.

“Well, did she apologize to you, too?”

“Yeah, she said that she shouldn’t have said those things to get me to fight her.”

“That’s good. I’m glad it went well,” Roy smiled into the rearview mirror so Lian could see him. Lian smiled back. He had been so worried that Lian would be twice as miserable this week, he hadn’t really stopped to consider the possibility that she would end up friends with the other girl. Maybe punching people in the face was how you made friends. He imagined punching Wally in the face for a moment. Maybe friendship wasn’t what he was hoping to achieve with that thought.

Lian ran inside when they got home, chattering a little about the things she had learned that day. Roy happily listened as she talked about how good at math Mar’i was, and that Lian had helped the other girl with her spelling. Roy was so happy that his daughter had a good day, despite spending the day at in-school suspension, he teared up a little.

“Dad, what’s wrong?” Lian asked, panicked as she saw a tear fall from her father’s eye.

“I’m just happy that your’re happy, sweetheart.”

“Don’t get mushy,” Lian said.

Roy snorted and asked Lian if she needed help with her homework. She declined, rushing into her room to get it done.

He quickly wiped the tears away and got out his phone, so he could call Jade. She had asked to be kept updated on how the first day went. Their conversation was brief, but Jade was happy to hear that Lian was doing okay. Roy managed to ask Jade how her job was going, but she wasn’t too forthcoming with the details. He figured she was worried about any answer she would give being the wrong one. He hung up after a few awkward goodbyes.

“You ready for the meeting?” Garth asked as he walked in the door. Roy was sitting at the kitchen counter with his jacket on next to the Tupperware containers of cookies.

“I’ve been ready for the last hour,” Roy said, sighing in defeat. Lian had asked him why he was ready so early about six times already.

“What time is the meeting?”

Garth was clearly amused. Roy told him six and Garth just laughed. Roy grabbed his keys and the cookies.

“Are you leaving now? You’re gonna be so early!”

Roy yelled goodbye to his daughter and walked out the door. He knew he would be early, but her had been staring at the clock for the last hour and was probably about to lose it if he sat there any longer.

He pulled up to the school and noticed several cars already in the parking lot. He walked up to the school building and stood staring at the door for a couple minutes before a man walked up next to him. Roy tried not to die of embarrassment as the man just stood next to him, staring at the door as well.

“I’m so sorry,” Roy muttered as he looked down at his shoes.

The man next to him just laughed.

“It’s alright, I was just chilling here so you wouldn’t look too crazy.”

“You are too late for that.” Roy chuckled and shifted the cookies to one hand. “I’m Roy.”

“Lucas.” They shook hands and Roy felt the pressure of the night alleviate just a little. “I get it, I was out for a smoke before I had to deal with the parental politics.”

“My daughter got in a fight,” Roy mentally smacked himself as the words tumbled out of him, “And apparently everyone thinks I’m an ex-gang member.”

“Oh, so you’re _that_ Roy, then.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. People in this town talk, it’s nothing new. Should have heard the stink everyone made when me and my husband moved here,” Lucas said.

“Thank you, that makes me feel better,” Roy said. “Not that you were talked about too, but that I’m not the only one.”

Lucas just laughed and pat Roy on the back as he opened the door. Roy slipped inside and he followed Lucas to the Cafeteria.

“My husband teaches here, actually. Only reason I’m a part of the PTA. He says it’s ‘good to be involved’.”

“I’m pretty sure I was vaguely threatened to be here,” Roy said, looking around at the people already talking to each other.

“Must have been Waller, right?” Lucas grabbed the Tupperware from Roy’s hands and put them on a table, “She does that. You get used to it.”

Roy looked at his Tupperware containers next to the nice platters on the table already. He tried not to be too discouraged as he picked up a lemon bar from one of the trays. Maybe the other parents were bad at baking. He took a bite and wanted to cry. It was delicious and probably the best lemon bar he had ever had.

“Oh, those are Karen’s. Her lemon bars are amazing,” Lucas said. He picked up one of Roy’s cookies and took a bite. “Hey, not bad.”

Roy crumpled a bit inside. Before he could bolt out of the room, Karen walked up to him.

“Roy! I’m so glad you made it! And you made cookies!” She grabbed one of his cookies and he wanted to smack it out of her hand. She didn’t deserve such mediocrity.

“Yeah, I’m excited to get involved!” Roy said, forcing himself to smile. Lucas’ eyebrow shot up, but Roy hoped he wouldn’t say anything. He had to look good for the other parents.

“Wow! These are good!” Karen munched on the cookie. Roy’s heart leaped. A few more parents started making their way through the door, all of them shuffling over to the snack table.

“Hey Lucas! Roy!” Linda made her way to them. “Glad you’ve met a few more people,” She said, nudging him with her elbow.

“I hardly count as more people,” Lucas said, crossing his arms.

“I was worried when Dick said Mar’i and your daughter had gotten into a fight! I hope they work it out,” Linda said with a frown.

Roy quickly tried to figure out who Dick was. Maybe that was Richard’s nickname? Who used that nick name anymore?

“Oh! Here’s Clark, you have to meet him!” Karen said, pulling Roy across the room. He shot Lucas a quick worried face, but he only got a chuckle in response. He was pulled over to the door.

“Karen, good to see you!” Clark said, his smile radiating a genuine warmth. Roy was immediately intimidated.

“This is Roy, you know, the neighbor I was telling you about?”

Roy froze. What had she said about him? Was she the one who started the rumor? She had seemed so nice. Maybe too nice?

“Good to have you, Roy. I’m Clark. My youngest goes here.”

“We are going to be so sad to see you leave the PTA next year,” Karen pouted.

“Oh, I’m sure I could stop in now and then, besides, you’ll all be fine.” He turned to Roy, “I feel like I’ve been on this PTA for my entire life.” Clark’s smile broke into laughter. “That’s what happens when you have kids too far apart. One gets out and another goes in.”

“I’ll, uh, keep that mind,” Roy chuckled. Karen and Clark chatted for a while longer, before Karen inevitably introduced him to more people. As he was trying to make casual small talk with them all, he noticed Linda standing with a few other parents, Richard, or was it Dick, included. They were all sort of looking at him, but trying not to be too obvious about it. Lucas had made his way back over to Roy.

“Come on, sit down with me,” He said. Roy mouthed ‘thank you’ as he followed Lucas to a few folding chairs that had been set out. “You looked like you needed to be rescued.”

“It wasn’t that obvious, was it?”

“Nah, you’re fine. I’m just the guy who saw you staring at a school door for four minutes.”

Roy laughed nervously. Lucas pointed out a few more parents he knew, telling Roy their names. Roy mentally catalogued each one. Lucas told Roy about how he worked IT, and Roy chatted a little about his own jobs.

Soon, the vice principal made her way to the front of the room and asked for everyone to take a seat. Roy had never seen a room full of people listen to someone so quickly. She talked for a while about the various upcoming events, and asked everyone to sign up to help with a couple of them. Her announcements were to the point, so Roy didn’t even feel his attention waver. She pointed out where the sign-up sheets for the fall and winter events were, and reminded them that there were upcoming field trips that would need chaperones as well. She stepped down a few parents walked to the stage to talk about the budget for various activities and asked the room for ideas about the fall fundraiser.

Roy could feel his attention falling. He wondered how long these things usually were; he had forgotten to ask. He looked around the room and tried to remember people’s names as he scanned the crowd. Lucas nudged him with his foot. He tried to focus on what was being said. After what felt like another hour the last speaker told everyone to sign up for a few activities.

“Make sure to put you phone numbers and email addresses down so you can get added to the chains!”

Roy tried to remember the name of the woman speaking. Donna, maybe? After that the parents started to shuffle out of their seats.

“So, what are you doing yourself in for?” Lucas asked.

“I don’t even remember what there is to sign up for,” Roy admitted. “Listening to people speak for that long has never been a skill of mine.”

Lucas let out a laugh. “Just sign up for what I do. They’re the easy ones.”

Roy followed him to a table. He noticed Richard standing at it.

“Dick, good to see you,” Lucas gave the man a pat on the back.

Did everyone call him Dick? Roy pondered that for a moment.

“How’s Andrew doing?” Dick asked.

“Oh, a ray of sunshine like always. You should come over for dinner again soon. Andrew keeps talking about this Italian dish he wants to make.”

“Yeah, that sounds great! Let me know.” Dick was smiling and Roy had to stop himself from wondering if he was the only one this guy didn’t smile at.

“You signing up for the Halloween party, too?”

“Every year, it’s the best holiday,” Dick said. He wrote his name down on the list and Roy noticed how neat and tidy his handwriting was. “I assume you’re signing up for the first father/daughter night, too?”

“How did you know?”

Roy watched as the two men exchanged more words, but he was distracted by how nice and jovial Dick was being. Dick made his way to another table after a quick hug for Lucas. He didn’t even look at Roy. Lucas wrote his name down and handed the pen to Roy. He quickly scratched his name and contact information on the paper before following Lucas to another table to do the same. He saw Dick speaking to a ridiculously gorgeous woman on the other side of the hall. They looked close, from the way their hands rested on each other’s hips.

“Well, I gotta head out,” Lucas said, cracking his back. He took out his phone. “Give me your number, that way we can complain about ridiculous parenting shit together.”

Roy quickly rattled off his number, surprised by the forwardness.

“It was nice, getting to know you,” Roy said, his hand out stretched for Lucas to shake. Lucas laughed and pulled Roy into a hug instead. Roy wasn’t sure how to react. Outside of his close family and friends, he wasn’t very tactile. He awkwardly patted Lucas on the back a few times. Lucas pulled back from Roy and looked worried.

“Sorry, I’m a hugger.”

“You should have warned me about that,” Roy laughed, only half joking. He waved goodbye to Karen on his way out as well and headed to his car. He was already half-way home before he remembered his Tupperware was still at the school. Oh well, maybe no one would know he was responsible for the cookies and they would drift into obscurity.

When he got home, Lian ran to him and hugged his legs. He put her to bed as Dolphin did the same with Cerdian. They both left the room and Roy flopped down next to Garth on the couch while Dolphin chose a chair.

“Was it horrible? Did they call you names?” Dolphin’s eyes were filled with amusement.

“No, everyone was very nice, which is suspicious given that my daughter punched someone. Except for Richard, who apparently everyone calls Dick. Which is fitting, given that he didn’t say a word to me.”

“Well, Lian did punch his daughter in the face,” Garth said.

“They made up,” Roy said, feeling exhausted. He had only been gone two hours, but it felt like an eternity. “I made a friend, though, I think. Maybe.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, his name’s Lucas. Apparently, his husband is a teacher and his daughter is a year above Lian. He hugged me.” Roy was still processing that part.

“Well, that’s good, I guess?” Dolphin looked unsure.

“Yeah, I think so, at least. I have to call Connor, or else he’ll get upset. I haven’t talked to him all day.”

Garth and Dolphin shooed him out of the room, not wanting to risk an upset Connor. Roy dialed the phone and waited for his brother to pick up. He talked for almost an hour and a half before Roy fell asleep with his phone on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the next update won't be for another few days.  
> Hopefully you enjoyed!


	3. Progress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lian goes on a sleepover, Roy gets continually shocked by people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is a bit later than I anticipated, but I hope you enjoy!

The week had been going well for Lian. She happily chatted with Roy about what she had learned that day in school, and about Mar’i, until she busied herself with homework. Roy was overjoyed that Lian seemed to be enjoying school, and could only hope it would continue past her in-school suspension.

Roy stopped in front of the school and turned off his car. He quickly did a sweep of the parking lot for Richard’s Lexus. That part still wasn’t going well. Roy had yet to see the man give him anything more than a polite nod.

When Roy didn’t see the car, he quickly looked at the clock, wondering if he was early. The clock told him that he was right on time. Roy had a petty hope in his heart that maybe that meant Richard had forgotten or was late. That was dad points gone.

Roy walked into the office, but was struck by the woman standing next Zinda’s desk. She looked familiar. Maybe she was the one who Richard was talking to at the PTA meeting? Roy shuffled farther into the office, realizing a few moments too late that he had been staring at the woman for a few too many seconds.

“Hello,” She said, holding her hand out for Roy to shake. “I’m Kory.”

“Pleasure. I’m Roy.”

He grabbed onto the woman’s hand and was met with a much firmer handshake than he had been expecting. She smiled warmly at him and he tried not to let it go to his head.

“Mom!” Mar’i screeched as she ran out from the small room she and Lian had been working in all week. She ran full force at Kory and leaped into her arms. Roy was impressed when Kory effortlessly lifted her daughter into a hug.

“Was the week with your father that bad?” Kory laughed as she snuggled her face into Mar’i’s curls.

“No! I just missed you.”

“I missed you as well.”

Roy watched the exchange and remembered when Lian would do the same thing to each Jade and him, depending on who had her. He looked down at Lian, who had grabbed his hand. She was pouting, and Roy realized that the exchange had probably made her miss her own mother. Roy squeezed her hand gently.

“Oh! Can Lian sleepover tonight?” Mar’i asked suddenly. Kory put her daughter back on the ground and looked between her and Roy. “Please? We’re all done with our punishment!”

Roy had to laugh at the forwardness. Lian tugged his hand and he looked down at her.

“It’s okay, right?” She whispered.

Roy wanted to say yes immediately. He had hoped she would make friends so badly, and this was a great starting point, but he knew he shouldn’t let her sleep at just anyone’s house.

“I am perfectly fine with it,” Kory said. “I can give you my address and cell number?”

Roy thought about it for a moment. He didn’t have any real reason to distrust this woman, but he still felt uneasy letting his daughter go over to someone’s house. She hadn’t asked to spend the night over anywhere before. Maybe that’s why he found himself pulling out his cell phone and exchanging numbers with Kory.

“This will be so much fun!” Mar’i said, excitedly pulling on Lian’s hand.

“Yeah!” Lian said. A smile had cracked across her face and Roy couldn’t help but smile at her.

“I’ll give you my wife’s number as well, just in case I can’t answer for some reason,” Kory explained. “What time will you need to pick her up?”

They stood there in the office, exchanging information and hammering out the details of the girls’ night, for a couple more minutes before they realized that they were still standing in the office. They made their way out to their cars.

“Babs is going to be so happy that she gets to cook for one more!”

Kory was already talking excitedly about the night. Roy smiled. He knew that Lian would be taken care of, even just from the small amount of time he had spent with Kory. They got to their cars and said their goodbyes, Lian excitedly jumping into the back of Roy’s Honda.

“Come on, Dad, we gotta get home so I can pack!”

Roy chuckled at his daughter’s enthusiasm.

“Mar’i said that we could paint our nails, and that she has a giant telescope, so we can look at stars!”

“That sounds pretty cool.”

“I know! She said that her mom knows all the constellations!”

Lian continued to talk about what Mar’i had told her a sleepover consisted of. Apparently, it was also watching movies and doing math homework. Roy wondered where all his good sleepover memories were. He remembered sleeping at Garth’s when Ollie and he got into fights, but mostly that consisted of he and Garth being as quiet as possible, so Arthur didn’t figure out how many nights a week Roy spent in his home.

When they pulled up to the house, Lian darted out of the car and to the house. Roy shook his head, but smiled as he followed her a normal pace. After he unlocked the house, she ran straight to her room. Roy watched as she dumped out the contents of her backpack to fill it with pajamas and movies and stuffed animals.

“Don’t forget your toothbrush, please.”

Lian ran into the bathroom and grabbed a few things to shove in her bag as well. If Roy had timed her packing, he was sure she would win a medal for speed.

“Okay! Let’s go!” Lian said, her backpack slung on back again.

Roy chuckled and ruffled her hair before motioning to the car. Lian ran back outside and pulled on the locked car door’s handle.

“You know, their house isn’t going to go anywhere.”

Roy unlocked the car door and Lian rushed to get into her seat.

“I know, but I’m excited dad!”

Roy walked over to his door and got in.

“You’re not nervous at all?”

“No! I’ve slept over at places without you or mom before.”

“Yeah, but that was with Uncle Connor or Garth.”

“It’s not different,” Lian said. Her mouth formed a small pout.

“If you say so.”

Roy followed the direction that his GPS was giving him. He realized he was in a part of town he hadn’t been to before. All the houses were much bigger in this part of town. Roy wondered what Kory or Babs did to make this kind of money.

When he pulled up onto the street, he immediately knew which house it was. Kory had said that the house was purple, but he hadn’t quite been expecting this bright shade of lavender. Lian climbed out of the car and rushed up the ramp to the door. She knocked loudly, three times. Roy had to smile at the habit that Dolphin had instilled on her.

“That was very quick!” Kory said as she opened the door.

Lian took a moment to look embarrassed before Mar’i popped up next to her mother.

“Come on! Let me show you my room here! It’s bigger than the one at dad’s.”

The two of them rushed into the house.

“Well, goodbye I guess,” Roy chuckled.

“You know how kids are; they tend to get very excited,” Kory reassured him.

“Definitely.”

Roy snuck a peek at the interior of the house. It seemed like a slightly modern design. The couch he caught a glimpse of looked very fancy.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow when I pick Lian up. Thank you, again, for letting her stay over.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure! Mar’i doesn’t have many friends, so I’m always thrilled when she makes a new one!”

“Ha, sounds like Lian, too.”

Roy turned to leave with a wave, but Kory spoke again.

“I want you to know, that I am sorry for my daughter instigating the fight.”

Roy hesitated for a moment. He hadn’t expected her to so forwardly apologize to him; he figured she didn’t need to.

“Oh, it’s fine, I’m sorry my daughter punched yours in the face.”

“The bruise is healing very nicely.”

They both stood there for a moment before giggling a bit. Roy had never felt more comfortable with someone quicker in his life. He wondered for a moment what the circumstances around Mar’i were, and how Richard could have ever let someone like this slip out of his life. He tried not to want to pry, and instead excused himself.

Before he turned on his car, he gave one last look at the house. Lian had been so excited to spend time with her new friend that she hadn’t even said good bye. Roy took a deep breath and tore his eyes away from the house. It would be good for Lian to spend time with a new friend. And Kory seemed more than nice. Roy started his car and started driving.

He didn’t realize that he had unconsciously driven himself to the tattoo shop instead of his home. He sat in his car for a moment before deciding to go in. Dolphin and Cerdian were always back late on Fridays and Garth was here for another several hours anyway. Roy didn’t like the thought of being alone in the house that much.

“Hey, Roy!” Harley yelled from her chair. She was currently shading a flower on a woman’s arm.

Roy gave a smile and a wave to the woman.

“This is my girlfriend! Red, this is Roy. Roy, this is the love of my life, my favorite person in the world, the apple of my-”

“I’m Pamela,” The woman offered, cutting off Harley’s ranting. Harley put her tattoo gun down and pouted.

“I wasn’t finished, Red.”

“I know, Harley, but we haven’t got all day.”

Pamela rolled her eyes, but Roy could see the grin still plastered on her face.

“Good to meet you,” Roy said.

“Hey, Pammy, you got any friends that you could set Roy up with?”

Roy groaned and thought about backing out of the shop.

“Do you tell everyone that I haven’t dated recently?”

“Nah, just most people.”

“You’ll learn not to tell Harley anything you don’t want everyone to know,” Pamela said. “It’s endearing, but also terribly annoying.”

Roy chuckled and watched for a moment as Harley finished up the color on her girlfriend’s arm. It looked like she was trying to go for two full sleeves of just flowers, from what Roy could tell. The art was impressive, too.

“I didn’t even know you did flower tattoos, Harley. I thought your repertoire was more skulls and blood and horror?”

“Yeah, well, Red doesn’t trust anyone else to do her tattoos, so I make an exception.”

“Hey, why aren’t you at home?” Garth asked.

He was working on a back piece right now, something with a lot of line art. Roy figured this wasn’t a one appointment tattoo.

“Lian is staying at Mar’i’s tonight.”

Garth looked up from his work for a moment. He patted the guy on the arm and asked if he wanted a five-minute break. The guy nodded vigorously and got up to pace a bit. Garth looked at Roy.

“Yeah, she asked if she could stay the night. Who was I to tell her no? I’ve been wanting her to make friends, and she finally made one.”

“And the asshole was okay with it?”

“Richard wasn’t there. Her mom came to pick her up instead. Great woman, her name’s Kory.”

Garth sat in contemplation for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

“Hey, if she seemed excited.”

“Roy!” Jackson yelled as he came out from the back curtained-off area. “When are you gonna let me ink you?”

Jackson had been asking Roy this basically non-stop since Garth mentioned that he could try touching up a few of Roy’s older pieces. Roy had been avoiding it, but since he didn’t have any plans tonight, he figured he could give Jackson a shot.

“How about now?”

Jackson looked like he was going to explode his face contorted into joy so quickly. He looked at Garth before looking at Roy again, and then back at Garth.

“Yeah, go ahead. Grab your gun. I’ll be over here for the next hour if you need anything. Use Chato’s station since he said you could.”

“Oh! This is so excitin’!” Harley squealed. “Jackson’s first time! I should get a picture.”

“You’ve only known the kid a few weeks,” Pamela said.

“He’s family now!” Harley shot back.

Roy watched the exchange with amusement as Garth got back to work on his piece. The guy in his chair looked about ready for a nap. He wondered how long Garth had been working on him.

“You think he should just touch up your arm band piece, or try to fix that mess on your shoulder?” Garth asked.

“No one can fix the mess on my shoulder, Garth.”

Garth had attempted to do a multi-color tattoo on Roy’s shoulder one time, but Garth was absolutely color blind. He hadn’t attempted one since.

“Is that the tropical fish one?” Jackson asked as he was setting the station up. Harley had come over to help him as Pamela just watched from Harley’s chair.

“Yeah, the awful one.”

“I want to try to fix it.”

Garth flicked his eyes over to Jackson quickly before trying to hide his smirk.

“Be my guest, you can’t make it look worse,” Roy said as he slipped his shirt over his head.

It took Jackson almost twenty minutes to mix his colors exactly how he wanted them, another twenty minutes to free hand a few things on Roy’s skin, and another twenty minutes to get the nerve to touch his needle to Roy’s skin. Harley had left with Pamela already, telling Jackson that he would do fine and demanding that he send her a picture when he was done.

“It’s okay, Jackson, I trust you. I saw your work on opening weekend, you’re doing fine.”

“Yeah, but those were random people who wanted cheap tattoos, I have to look you in the face every day.”

Roy chuckled, but urged Jackson to have more faith in himself. Garth was finishing up with his customer when the bell of the shop rang. Roy looked over to see Miguel stride in.

“Oh crap,” Jackson muttered under his breath. “I’m so sorry, Miguel, I got so excited that I forgot-”

“No, no, it’s okay. You are getting to tattoo! I’m so excited for you!” Miguel clapped his hands together.

Jackson was beaming as Miguel came over to give him a quick kiss before sitting down in Tatsu’s chair to watch. Garth had wandered over as well, his customer already gone. Jackson seemed to gain new confidence with his boyfriend and his mentor with him, and started on Roy’s piece. Garth would make a comment here or there about his technique, but for the most part allowed Jackson to do his own thing.

Miguel chatted about how school was going for him. He was an engineering student, who apparently had a cryptid for a roommate and was regretting taking so many credits this semester. Roy could tell that Jackson was concentrating, since he barely gave more than one or two-word responses when Miguel asked him something. Roy liked Miguel enough to keep the conversation going, though.

After what felt like no time at all, Jackson announced he was finished.

“Wow,” Garth said, looking at the piece.

“Like you know what it looks like,” Roy said, rolling his eyes.

“No, it looks good,” Miguel said. “It looks amazing! I knew you were amazing!”

Roy could hear Jackson’s embarrassed laughter. Jackson handed Roy a hand mirror and Roy hopped off the chair to check out Jackson’s handy work. When he looked, he was absolutely stunned. Jackson had completely reworked the whole design, and Roy loved it. Where there had originally been several fish of very clashing and dull colors, was now one full fish, whose scales were wonderfully vibrant.

“You did well,” Garth said, slapping Jackson on the back.

“Wow, I never thought this piece would ever look good. Thanks, Jackson.”

“Is that really the only color piece you’ve ever tried?” Jackson asked, wiping down Chato’s station.

“Thankfully.”

Jackson finished breaking down the station and tried to get a couple good shots of Roy’s new tattoo. Roy caught a glimpse of the time on his phone and nearly fell over. He had been sitting in that chair for three hours. Garth had closed the shop around them, apparently.

As Roy watched Miguel and Jackson leave the shop hand on hand, bumping into each other in that flirty way couples do, he couldn’t help but think about what Harley had offered. Maybe he did need to get out there, especially if Lian was going to be hanging out with friends and starting to get involved in activities. Roy hadn’t realized how much his life revolved around his daughter.

“I can’t believe how good he already is,” Garth said as he locked the shop up, “You remember me after a year? I was not that good yet.”

“Well, maybe you’re a better teacher than Arthur.”

“Well, maybe Jackson is actually focused and not-,” Garth looked over at Roy in apology.

Roy knew what Garth had left unsaid. Roy was responsible for Garth falling behind in his apprenticeship. They had moved past it a long time ago, but Roy still felt bad every time it came up. Garth always felt guilty after he brought it up.

Garth climbed into Roy’s car and they headed back home. When they got there, Dolphin quickly asked to see the tattoo. Roy showed her, and he was pretty sure she teared up a little.

“He’s so much better than you at color. Who’s been teaching him color?” Dolphin asked.

“Well, you know how he always said he wanted to color, not just black and grey. I think Mera was teaching him some color techniques behind my back. And I know Harley has been showing him things, too.”

Roy sat there, watching as Garth and Dolphin conversed. He felt himself have that pull at his heart again. He really needed to stop hanging out with only couples. He sent out a quick text to both Lucas and Jason, seeing if either man was willing to hang out with him. He got a quick response from Lucas saying he couldn’t since it was his Friday with Jenny, so Andrew could go out with some friends.

He also got a reply from Jason that just said ‘no’.

“Who are you texting?” Garth asked.

“Oh, no one.”

“Oh! Roy!” Dolphin exclaimed, her body shooting out of her chair as she did. Her eyes had a hint of mischievousness in them and Roy was suddenly afraid.

“What is it?”

“I want to go out on Monday night!”

“Any particular reason?”

“I’m going out with some of the other teachers, and I want you to come. Maybe you’ll make some new friends?”

Dolphin’s eyebrows wiggled up and down a bit, making Roy question her true motives. He thought about it for a moment.

“We’re not going to the bar, just a pool hall.”

“Okay, fine, let me know what time and I’ll be there,” Roy said.

Garth looked quizzically at his wife, but smiled at Roy. Roy wondered what he was getting himself into. Dolphin did a little victory dance and started drafting a text on her phone. Roy excused himself to his room, where he flopped onto his stomach. He sent a quick text to Connor with a picture of Jackson’s work and he fell right asleep.

 

***

 

The next morning, Roy was on his daily jog, his earbuds snug in place and his headband around his head. He had been trying to get to know the neighborhood better, so he always went a different way. He looked at his watch. He didn’t have to pick up Lian until ten, and he didn’t have to work until noon, so he was taking a longer jog.

He noticed Karen, Linda, and Donna ahead of them. They were all wearing sweatshirts of various colors and holding dumbbells as they walked. Roy had to smirk to himself, because he hadn’t thought anyone actually power-walked anymore.

“Roy!” Karen called.

The rest of the group of women turned to look at him. Donna’s face was guarded, but happy. Linda gave him a pleasant smile. Roy gave a small wave and slowed his pace.

“You’re always running in the mornings, where do you find that motivation?” Karen asked.

Roy laughed and scratched the back of his head. He had started running in the morning after his detox. He was struggling with his depression at that point. Lilith had recommended it to get himself started in the morning. He hadn’t missed a run in nearly three or four years.

“Oh, you know, gotta keep in shape.”

“Wally runs every day, too. You should meet up with him in the mornings, if you could keep up,” Linda said with a small smirk.

Roy wasn’t sure if it was a serious invitation, or a challenge. He decided to acknowledge it with a simple chuckle.

“So, where’s your little girl?” Donna asked. “Are your friends watching her? We always drop the kids off with Mal before our Saturday walk.”

“Oh, no actually, she’s over at a friend’s house.”

“She’s making friends already! That’s great, Roy,” Karen said.

“Yeah, she and Mar’i have actually been getting along great,” Roy said. Jade had laughed when he had told her Lian had become fast friends with the girls she had gotten into a fight with. She said that Lian was too much like him some days. Roy hoped she would continue to show his better traits, and not his bad ones.

Linda and Donna shared a knowing look. Roy couldn’t quite decipher what they were knowing, but hoped it was at least positive.

“Does that mean you’ve met Kory and Babs?” Donna looked at him, waiting for an answer. “I know it’s Kory’s weekend with her.”

“I met Kory, not her wife yet. I’ll probably meet her when I pick Lian up later.”

“She’s a doll, you’ll love her,” Karen said.

“I still find it so funny that Dick’s exes got together,” Linda laughed.

“Oh, well, love is funny sometimes,” Donna said.

She had a little bit of a forlorn look in her eyes that Roy wondered about. He had seen that look a lot in his groups; it usually meant that they were still grieving. Roy was almost tempted to give the woman a hug.

“Especially for Dick,” Karen said as she tilted her head, laughing.

“Oh, be nice to the guy,” Donna chided.

Roy was starting to feel awkward, so he excused himself from the group with the excuse of his time goal. Linda had given him a funny look, but Karen and Donna seemed to wish him well. He had jogged at a much faster pace for at least ten blocks after that.

Roy came to a stop at a park, or, what seemed to pass as a park in Gotham. There were roughly three trees and a mulch-ridden swing set. At least there was also a bench and a water fountain. He jogged over to the water fountain and took a few sips.

He tried not to read too much into his conversation with the women, but he couldn’t help it. He knew the question about his daughter’s whereabouts was a judgement. And Linda all but telling him her husband was faster than him seemed like aggression. Maybe he really was reading too much into it. He was still a new face after all, some wariness was usual. Especially when there were rumors flying around about you.

“Oh, hey.”

Roy quickly turned towards the voice and saw Dick Grayson standing there, in full work out gear.

“Uh, hey,” Roy said.

He was taken aback by the fact that the other man had even greeted him. He hadn’t said nearly anything to Roy for the past week when they both showed up to pick their daughters up. Dick stood in front of him, shuffling his feet a bit. Roy could feel the awkward tension in the air.

“Look, I’m…I’m sorry for judging you so harshly.”

Roy’s face probably showed his genuine shock, because Dick flinched a bit.

“I can be…a little hot-headed when it comes to family stuff. I heard the rumors about you and assumed they were true, without even asking you. And it was my daughter’s fault as well for the fight. So…let’s start over?”

Dick held his hand out to Roy.

“I’m Dick Grayson, nice to meet you.”

Roy tried to shake himself out of his state of shock. He didn’t think almost anyone in his life had ever apologized so openly to him about something like this. Jade hadn’t even really apologized outright for keeping Lian from him for years. Apparently, people liked to apologize here.

“Roy Harper, not an ex-gang member.”

Dick laughed, and Roy shook his hand. He had fairly calloused hands, like Roy, and he caught himself thinking about how nicely their hands fit together.

“Kory told me that Lian was staying over, and gushed about how nice you were. I figured I had been unfair.”

“No sweat man, you’re not the first, and you won’t be the last.”

Dick frowned. Roy kicked himself for the self-deprecating humor.

“Well, I gotta head back home, but I’m glad I ran into you,” Dick said.

He smiled and waved as he turned to run in the opposite direction Roy had come from. Roy watched him leave, still in a state of confusion. He suddenly felt bad for thinking Dick was a bad guy. He tore himself away from Dick’s figure jogging away, and started jogging his own way home.

 

*** 

 

When Roy pulled up to Kory’s house, he stared at it for a moment. Kory had said nothing but nice things about him, apparently. He found himself smiling, hoping that maybe that meant he wasn’t so terrible at making friends as he thought. His conversation with Dick had brightened his mood considerably. He felt good as he walked up to the house and knocked on the door.

When it opened, Kory stood there with her hair flowing freely around her, smiling warmly at him.

“Roy! Come on in, the girls are upstairs still, playing with little James.”

Roy followed her into her home, kicking off his shoes. Kory rose an eyebrow at the gesture.

“Sorry, it’s a habit. Do people not do this here?”

“Not usually, but my floors do appreciate it,” She laughed.

Roy shrugged as his socked feet padded along the hardwood floors. He followed Kory through the sitting room, through a hallway, with what looked to be a personal elevator, that led to the kitchen. Roy looked around at the stainless-steel kitchen and knew Garth would be jealous if he could see it. Double ovens, a true dream. He followed her a little bit farther into what seemed to be a study.

“Roy, this is my wife, Barbara,” Kory gestured to the woman at the desk.

Barbara turned herself around in her wheelchair and pushed her glasses up.

“Pleasure to meet you, but please, call me Babs.”

Roy walked forward to shake her hand and smiled.

“Same to you. Thank you both for letting Lian stay over, I know she was so excited.”

“Oh, she is welcome any time! She is a great little girl, you’re doing a wonderful job.”

Roy felt himself heat up at the compliment, but he smiled proudly.

“Thanks, I have a lot of help, though.”

“It’s good to have a support network,” Barbara said.

“You should come out with us one weekend, meet some of our friends. Since Lian will probably be coming over pretty often, we should get to know each other better!” Kory was bouncing on the balls of her feet. Babs looked wholly amused by her wife’s excitement.

“Just let me know when,” Roy said, surprising himself with how easily he accepted the invitation to go out.

“Excellent!”

Just then, a little boy, probably around six, came into the room. He crawled right onto Babs’ lap and snuggled his head into her neck. Babs smiled and hugged him. Roy noticed that he looked as much like Kory as Mar’i did.

“He must be getting ready for his nap, he’s been up since five this morning.”

“Oh, early riser, huh?” Roy asked.

“Oh, the earliest. Takes after his namesake,” Babs said. “Named him after my father.”

“Her family is convinced there are no more than two names in the world,” Kory laughed.

Babs rolled her eyes, but the love on her face was still clear.

“I’m named after my mother,” She explained.

“Dad!”

Roy turned to give his daughter a hug as she ran into the room, Mar’i only steps behind her.

“Did you have fun?”

“Yes! We stayed up and looked at the stars, and Mrs. A-, I mean, Kory knew the names of all the constellations!”

“Very cool!”

“It was!”

Lian talked more about what she had done, with Mar’i filling in the details that she missed. Eventually, Babs excused herself to help put James down for his nap. Roy was able to thank Kory again as Lian and Mar’i shared a hug like they were never going to see each other again. Roy had to smile at the ferocity of the girls’ friendship. Kids were so good at unbridled affection.

When they got home, Lian was still detailing her adventures.

“And she makes the best pancakes! Even better than Uncle Garth’s.”

“I wouldn’t say that too loudly, he might stop making them for us.”

Lian giggled.

“Hey, you want to see the new tattoo I got?”

“Yes! You got a new one?” Lian asked, already scanning her father’s arms.

She loved Roy’s tattoos, and had always asked when she could get one, too. Roy told her she had to wait until she was eighteen. She already had a collection of tattoo ideas in a folder in her room, though Roy hoped that her taste improved in nine years. But, if Lian still wanted to get a tattoo of a frog riding a unicorn when she was old enough, he supposed he wasn’t going to stop her.

Roy took off his shirt to reveal the tattoo. It was starting to heal, but it was still raised slightly.

“It’s a rainbow fish! Did Uncle Garth do this one?”

“Nope, Jackson did.”

Lian seemed impressed. Roy would have to tell Jackson that his art was nine-year-old approved.

Lian begged Roy to play a game with her before he had to leave for work, and so they sat on the living room floor with a backgammon set. It was getting close to the time Roy had to leave, and neither Garth or Dolphin were home yet. He sent them both a quick text.

Garth’s text came in a few moments later.

‘Sorry, shop got busier than expected, even had to call in Tatsu on her day off. Maybe Dolphin will be home early.’

Dolphin’s text came next.

‘Hey Roy, but things are taking a little longer than I thought. Maybe Garth will be home soon?’

Roy sighed and watched as his daughter won another game. Maybe Artemis wouldn’t mind if Lian hung out in the shop? He would have never thought about asking any of his former employers that. He hoped he would be able to, because he couldn’t really afford to miss a shift. He sent out a quick text as Lian set up the board again.

‘Of course! Biz loves kids, I’m sure he’d be fine with watching her for a few hours. Come in soon, we’re slammed.’

Roy looked over at his daughter.

“You want to come to work with me? My coworkers are really nice.”

Lian’s face contorted into a frown as her nose wrinkled up.

“Won’t it be boring?”

“You can bring a book.”

Lian groaned and started to put the board away. He apologized to her and promised that the time would go by quickly. She seemed to only half-believe him.

When they pulled up to the shop, Lian dragged her feet as she followed her father into the shop. A few of the customers gave him a weird look as he walked around the counter. Biz looked around Roy at Lian and smiled. Lian shyly smiled back.

“Biz, this is my daughter, Lian. Lian, this is Biz.”

“You like coloring?” Biz asked.

Lian adamantly nodded her head as Biz pulled out a few coloring sheets and crayons. Lian hopped onto the second stool next to him and immediately started coloring in one of the car pictures. Roy gave him a thumbs-up as he walked into the back to help Artemis.

“Thanks for letting me bring my daughter, I usually wouldn’t ask, but-”

“Don’t worry about it, Roy. It’s not a problem,” She replied from under a car. “Can you get to work on the oil change for that Corolla?”

Roy finished snapping on his coveralls as he walked over to the car. The next six hours seemed to fly by for him. Every time he went to check on Lian, she seemed content to be spending time with Biz. She even seemed to enjoy telling the customers to have a good day as they were leaving. When it was finally time to close up shop, he found Lian coloring in Biz’s nails with a magic marker.

“Good choice, Lian, blue is really his color,” Artemis said, grinning down at her.

“I know, I’m good with colors.”

Roy snorted at his daughter’s confidence. He chatted with Artemis a little as she counted down Biz’s till.

“Hey, so I’ve been thinking about extending the shop’s hours on weekends for the winter, would you be okay with working that late?”

“It usually won’t be a problem. This was just sort of a fluke, today.”

“Well, if you ever need to bring her with you again, it’ll be fine. Biz seems to have taken a special liking to her. Usually, he won’t let anyone touch him. Your daughter is something special.”

Roy smiled as he watched Lian finish up Biz’s nails.

“That, she is.”

“Hey, you want to go grab some dinner? I was going to take Biz out anyway, my treat. You and your daughter.”

“Oh, wow, uh, you don’t have to pay, that’s not necessary.”

Artemis waved her hand at him. “No, no, I insist. Consider it a bonus since I’ve been having you work more than I said I would.”

Roy stumbled over his thanks, and the four of them locked up the shop and walked down to a diner that was only a few blocks away. Lian chattered all of dinner about almost every topic she could think of. Biz seemed to listen very intently, and Artemis was asking her all sorts of questions about her interests. Once the meal was over, Roy thanked Artemis again.

“You’ve been an amazing boss,” He said.

“I’d like to think I know how to treat my friends.”

Roy was shocked for what seemed like the tenth time that day. He had been hesitant to call Artemis his friend, but now he was filled with joy at the prospect.

“Yeah, friends.”

He said goodbye to Artemis and Biz, as Lian gave them both hugs. He drove home with a light heart as his daughter gushed about Biz.

“I thought it would be boring, but it was really fun! He’s nice.”

Roy was still smiling as they got home, both Garth and Dol’s cars in the driveway. Lian rushed in to tell Dolphin about her day. Roy hoped she would leave out the part about the pancakes. Garth greeted him as he walked out of the kitchen.

“I was surprised when you said Artemis took you both out for dinner.”

“Yeah, apparently good bosses pay for their employees’ meals.”

“Hey, I bought that Thai food last week.”

“Does it count if the whole shop pressures you into it, though?”

Roy went to bed that night feeling better than he had in weeks. He even managed to take off his socks and jeans this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	4. Tough Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy has always tried being honest with his daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was hard to write, but I hope everything makes sense!

“Where’s Jason at?”

Roy looked up from the computer screen. A kid, probably around sixteen or so, was standing in front of him with his hands in his jacket pockets.

“I’m not sure I’m supposed to-”

“I’m Duke, his brother. I’ve been trying to reach him for a week, but he’s good at ignoring people when he wants to.”

“Oh, he should be back from his lunch soon. You can corner him when he gets back.”

Duke threw his head back and laughed.

“You must have brothers, too.”

“Yeah, but I’m the one my siblings are always trying to get ahold of. I know how it works.”

Duke smirked and leaned against the counter.

“So, you must be Roy,” Duke seemed to study Roy’s face. Roy felt himself shift slightly on the stool under the scrutiny. “The way my brother described you, I figured you’d be…scarier? Scruffier?”

“I feel like I’m plenty scruffy,” Roy said, touching his hair. He really did need that haircut.

Roy pondered for a minute why Jason would describe him as ‘scary’. Did he really talk that much? He was cut off from his musings when Jason walked through the back door.

“Roy, get off your ass and help-” Whatever Jason was going to say was forgotten as he caught a glimpse of his brother standing next to the counter. Jason started to turn around, but Duke rushed up and caught him by the arm.

“Jay, we’ve all been trying to reach you for a week. Bruce already apologized, so stop taking it out on all of us.”

“Maybe I’m tired of needing apologies.”

“Man, I know, okay?” Duke sighed and let go of Jason’s arm. “I’m not gonna make excuses for him, but the rest of us missed you at family dinner on Friday.”

Jason seemed to deflate slightly. Roy looked between the two guys in front of him before trying to look busier than he was.

“Will we see you this week? Cass was very upset you weren’t there, since Harper finally had the night off. And Tim only stayed for, like, twenty minutes. It was the perfect night.”

Jason laughed at Duke’s smirk.

“Listen, I have to put up with Bruce’s bull seven nights a week, I’m just asking you to be there for one of them, so I don’t go completely crazy. I think Day had the right idea.”

Roy could feel himself thinking about Connor and Mia, begging Roy to be around more when they were younger. He wondered if Jason’s reasons for distancing himself from his family were like his own. Roy realized that Jason didn’t really talk about them that much. Since that one day he admitted to having family, he hadn’t brought them up again.

“Plus, Alfred misses the help in the kitchen,” Duke added.

“Ah, so you’re really here as Alfred’s envoy.”

Duke punched Jason playfully on the shoulder.

“Yeah, I’ll be there this Friday,” Jason mumbled. “It’s not fair bringing the old man into the argument.”

Duke’s face lit up as he pumped his arm in victory. Jason rolled his eyes, but Roy caught the fond smile that flitted across his face. Duke waved his goodbyes as he walked from the shop. Jason turned his attention to Roy, who had been staring at Jason.

“You got something to say?”

“When don’t I?” Roy laughed. “You wanna talk about it?”

“Unlike you, not everyone wants to talk about how they’re feeling all the time.”

“I distinctly remember you ranting about how Jane Austen makes you feel last week.”

“Shut-up,” Jason said, turning and walking into the garage.

Roy followed him, hoping to maybe get a little more information.

“You know, my foster dad was the worst,” Roy said.

Jason kept his back to him, trying to busy himself with cleaning up the shop a little.

“Constantly yelled at me, always found something wrong. Still better than my first dad, I suppose.”

“How old were you when you were adopted?” Jason asked.

“Ah, Ollie never adopted me, officially,” Roy rubbed the back of his head, “I was, what, probably eleven when I started living there? Found out Connor, my brother, was his son after Connor’s mom died. Kid was only six, he barely understood what was happening. Ollie wasn’t ready to be a father, but he had been going through one of his moods.”

“Moods?”

“Yeah, thought he could change the world single-handedly. So, when he came to collect his son, he took me too. Said it would be easier if Connor had someone he knew and trusted with him.”

“Was it?” Jason was focusing on Roy now, his hands out to his sides, gripping the set of drawers behind him.

“Maybe, who knows?” Roy looked off to the distance for a moment. He caught himself in his own thoughts. He had tried to work through all of this before, but talking about it always found him wondering if he really had.

“Bruce isn’t a bad father,” Jason said, his eyes a bit downcast.

Roy snapped his eyes back to his friend.

“We just don’t see eye to eye all the time.”

“I don’t think anyone is supposed to see eye to eye with their dad.”

“Knowing that is probably what makes you a good father.”

“Did you just compliment me?”

“No. Shut up,” Jason threw a stray towel at Roy’s face and Roy couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

 

***

 

Roy checked his phone’s GPS as he winded down another side street. Dolphin had sent him the address and told him she and Garth would meet him at the pool hall with her colleagues. Lian and Cerdian had seemed very excited at the prospect of being watched by Miguel and Jackson. Roy turned into the small parking lot behind the hall and squeezed his car into one of the tiny spaces. He grimaced as he got out of his car, hoping no one would smack their car door into his own.

Roy walked into the brightly lit building and scanned the room for his friends. He checked the time on his phone. He was sure he had been running late after taking two wrong turns, but the only other patrons seemed to be a few older gentlemen, a group of older teenagers, and a blonde-haired man who seemed to be trying to type out something on his phone to show one of the employees. Roy walked over to the man and waited for his attention.

“By any chance, do you work with Dolphin?” Roy asked, his hands flying quickly.

The man seemed to visibly inflate, quickly signing back.

“Yes, you must be Roy. I’m Joey.”

“Dolphin talks about me, huh?”

“Oh yeah, I know all your secrets now.”

Joey’s face turned into a lopsided grin and Roy had to laugh.

“I assume all the bad ones?”

“I know absolutely nothing good.”

Roy chuckled again and turned to the employee, asking for a table. Joey thanked Roy as they were handed cues, and headed over to the table.

“I’m sure they won’t mind if we start a game without them,” Roy said.

“I wonder where everyone else is, Dolphin is usually so punctual.”

He watched as Joey set up the table. Suddenly, Roy’s body went cold with realization. Dolphin wasn’t late, she just wasn’t going to show up. Roy audibly groaned. He should have known something was up the minute Garth hadn’t seemed to know what was going on.

“What’s wrong?” Joey asked after he had the rack set up.

“I’m pretty sure we’ve been set-up.”

Joey stared at him for a moment and started shaking with laughter. Roy laughed along with him.

“Dolphin sure is a character. I had wondered why she was asking me so many questions about my love life.”

“She tends to be ahead of everyone,” Roy said.

“Well, you already paid for the table, so we could at least play for a little while.”

Roy hesitated. He wasn’t really looking to date anyone. Sure, he wished he could have what Dolphin and Garth do, but he still didn’t feel ready to emotionally invest in something like that. He figured he would have to have a talk with Dolphin about setting him up on surprise dates.

“We can just be two guys, playing pool together. I promise I didn’t expect this either,” Joey added.

“Sure,” Roy said after letting a long breath. “You should break though, want to give you a chance.”

“Oh, big words. I hope you can back them up.”

Joey lined up his shot and smacked the cue ball. It barely moved the set.

“You…aren’t good at this, are you?”

“What gave it away?”

“You didn’t mention that to Dolphin, did you?”

Joey thought for a moment.

“You know, I actually think I did. I told her my ex would constantly try to drag me out to play, but his lessons never stuck.”

Roy audibly groaned again. Dolphin was the worst kind of friend. Joey started shaking with laughter, and Roy thought he could almost see tears forming in the man’s eyes.

“Oh, wow, she loves her clichés, doesn’t she?”

“You have no idea. You should hear her tell the story of how she and Garth met.”

“Oh?”

“It was sophomore year, and I had just finished my 200 meter freestyle,” Roy said, mimicking Dolphin’s facial expressions when she told the story, “Our eyes met across the room and I knew as soon as I saw him that he was the one.” Roy fluttered his eyebrows for added effects.

“Wow, love at first sight, really? That’s actually pretty sweet.”

“That’s how she tells it. Garth seems to have a very different version from what I remember, too.”

“They seem very happy though,” Joey said.

“That they are.” Roy looked at the pool table. “Here, I’ll set it up again and you can try to actually break it this time.”

“Why don’t you do it?” Joey asked after Roy was finished racking the balls again.

“Alright.”

Roy set up his shot and the cue ball smacked hard into the other balls. Two striped balls fell into pockets immediately. Roy lined up his next shot and ricocheted two more balls into their pockets. He continued to sink the balls into the pockets until there were only solids and the eight-ball left on the table. Roy looked over at Joey who was staring at him in disbelief.

“What were you, a pool shark in a past life?”

“In a way. Used to spend a lot of times in bars,” Roy explained. He called corner pocket for the eight-ball and watched it glide across the table and sink into the called pocket. He noticed a few of the teenagers from the group across the hall staring at him.

“Not anymore, I guess?”

“Ah, no,” Roy said. He didn’t want to divulge his entire life’s history to this man he just met.

“Alright, set it up again. Give yourself a disadvantage at least, shoot with your other hand.”

“Ambidextrous.”

“Close your eyes then,” Joey joked.

Roy laughed and set up the balls again. They chatted between shots, mostly about Joey’s work at the school and music. Roy had been surprised to learn Joey was only hard of hearing, but Joey explained his vocal chords had been damaged beyond repair in an accident, but his hearing was only partially gone. Roy had asked if he wanted him to speak instead of sign, but Joey insisted they keep signing.

“It feels like those weird scenes in Star Wars when someone talks to me and I sign back,” He had joked.

Once their hour was up, they handed in their pool cues and walked out to their cars.

“Well, it was definitely good to meet you,” Roy said, not sure how to end their not-a-date.

“I’ll just say this up front, since I can feel the awkward tension coming from you. Don’t worry, this wasn’t a date. One, I’m not really looking to date right now. Two, you’re not my type.”

“Oh, wow, okay, thank you. Me too,” Roy said. He could feel the tension leave his shoulders for a moment. “I mean, not to insult you or anything.”

“Hey, I insulted you first,” Joey smirked.

“I’ll talk to Dolphin about not conspiring to set you up on any more dates.”

“I would appreciate it.”

Joey held out his hand for Roy to shake and after he took it, they went to their separate cars. Roy quickly checked for any new scratches on his car before getting in and heading home.

When he got to the house, he could see that Garth’s car was gone and he rolled his eyes. Those fiends made this their own date night, too. He walked inside to see Cerdian asleep on the couch, cuddled next to Jackson with a blanket thrown around him. Some animated movie was playing on the TV. Miguel was on the floor, currently in a princess tiara and getting makeup smeared on his face by Lian.

“You guys having a good time?” Roy asked as he set his keys in the bowl next to the door.

“Dad! You’re home already!” Lian looked at him with a frown.

“Are Garth and Dol on their way back already, too?” Jackson asked.

“Ah, no, probably not. Turns out Dol was trying to set me up with her friend from work.”

Miguel and Jackson both gave him wide-eyed stares. Lian scrunched her face up and quickly left the room. Roy watched as she closed the door to her room.

“Is she okay?” Miguel asked, standing up from the floor.

“I’m not sure, give me a minute, okay?”

Roy walked down the hall a bit and knocked gently on the door.

“Hey, sweetheart, can I come in?”

Roy waited for answer. He heard a little bit of shuffling before Lian opened the door a crack. She stared at him through the small opening before opening it up more and walking back to her bed. He walked into the room and sat down on the ground in front of Lian.

“I didn’t mean to upset you. Can you help me figure out how I did, so I don’t do it again?”

Lian stared at him for a moment. Roy gave her a smile, but waited for her to speak.

“You’re lonely, Dad.”

Roy was taken aback by his daughter’s words.

“Why would you say that? I have you, and Cerdian, Garth, and Dolphin. And Uncle Connor calls almost every day to talk to you and me.”

“But you’re still sad,” Lian said, her eyes a little watery.

Roy sat on her words for a moment. He usually liked that Lian was so honest, but he wasn’t sure how to navigate this conversation.

“Well, sweetheart, sometimes people are sad because of other reasons.”

Roy thought to the orange bottle in his nightstand. While he didn’t try to hide his struggles from his daughter, he didn’t always feel like he had to explain every part of them. Maybe he should have.

“I know,” Lian said, clutching a pillow to her chest. “I know you’re sad a lot, but you’re doing that thing.”

“Thing?”

Lian scrunched up her face in frustration. Roy could tell she was picking up on a lot of things that her nine-year-old vocabulary couldn’t entirely express. He took a deep breath and thought about his recent moods, anything that he had been doing that Lian could have picked up on.

“You’ve been sleeping on top of your covers. You only do that when you’re extra sad,” Lian explained after a few moments. “And I had to wake you up to walk me to the bus stop.”

Roy stared at his daughter for a moment.

“So, you think, that for me to be less sad, I should date someone?”

Lian bit her lip, but didn’t reply right away. She stared at him for a moment before turning away and looking at one of the posters on her wall for Dinah’s old band. Suddenly, something clicked for Roy. He thought about the people in Lian’s life. Most of them were in happy relationships, and the ones that weren’t…

“No,” Lian said, startling Roy out of his thoughts. “I don’t know.”

Roy moved closer to the bed, leaned against it, and pat his lap. Lian crawled into it and Roy hugged her close. She sniffled a little, and Roy could feel a few tears soak through his shirt.

“I thought moving here would make you happy again,” Lian mumbled into Roy’s shoulder.

Roy hugged her closer.

“I am happy to be here. Tell you what, tomorrow night, we’re gonna have a father-daughter date, okay? We can go bowling, and you can eat as many cheese fries as you want.”

Lian stopped sniffling for a minute.

“Will that make you less sad?”

“It always makes me happy to spend time with you, Lian.”

Roy gave her a kiss on her forehead. Lian yawned.

“Okay, I think it’s time for bed.”

Lian hugged Roy one more time, before crawling back up into her bed. He tucked her into her covers.

“Dad, can we talk more tomorrow?” Lian’s face was still a bit puffy, but she looked more tired than upset now.

“Of course.”

Roy gave her a kiss on her forehead before heading into the living room to grab Cerdian. The little boy barely stirred as Roy lifted him off the couch and tucked him into bed. He said good night to Lian before shutting off the light and leaving the door partially open. He flopped onto the couch next to Miguel and Jackson.

“Is she okay?” Jackson asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” Roy said. “She’s worried about me, I think.”

“About you dating?” Miguel asked.

“Just in general. I’ve talked to her about my depression before, but I’ve never really talked to her about my dating life, or lack thereof. Neither Jade or I really even dated during the time we’ve had her. She’s surrounded by a lot of happy couples, but her parents aren’t together, or even seeing anyone else. On top of that, she’s still dealing with Jade not being around, and moving to an entirely new city three thousand miles away from most of her family.”

The three of them sat in silence. The animated movie on the screen, playing its menu opening on repeat softly, was the only sound.

“She’s tough,” Miguel said. “She’s going to be fine.”

“I think I’m going to call Lilith tomorrow and see if she’ll do phone or video appointments.”

“That’s a good idea,” Jackson said. He placed his hand on Roy’s knee and squeezed it before getting up. “Alright, I have to get this one home before he starts complaining about how he has to get up for his 8am lecture.”

“Why would you do that to yourself, Miguel?” Roy laughed.

“I was young and stupid back in August,” Miguel said, putting his hand on his forehead for dramatic effect.

“Alright, you guys, thanks for watching the kids. Drive safe.”

“Don’t be such a dad,” Jackson said as they walked out of the house.

Roy looked at the clock on the wall and wondered how long it would take Garth and Dolphin to return. He pulled out his phone and scrolled to Connor’s number, and then to Lilith’s, and finally ended up staring at Waylon’s number. He wasn’t sure how long he had been staring at the contact information on his phone when he heard the front door open after three very soft knocks.

Roy put his phone away and folded his arms. He put on a scowl and gave his best disappointed look. Garth took one look at him and turned to his wife.

“This is your conversation,” Garth said. He put his keys in the bowl by the door and walked straight to the kids’ room to see if they were asleep, then into his bedroom. 

“What the hell, Dol?”

“I figured you needed a little push, you know, to get out there.”

Roy took a deep breath as he looked at Dolphin’s apologetic stance.

“Did you at least have a good time?”

“Joey is a nice guy, but that’s not the point.”

“How nice?” Dolphin asked with her eyebrows raised as she leaned in closer to Roy.

“Stop.”

Roy’s hands made a sharp slap as he finished the sign. Dolphin frowned, but her hands dropped down to her sides.

“Look, Dol, I know you were just trying to help, but maybe next time don’t.”

“Roy, I’m sorry that I overstepped my bounds, but know I was just worried.”

“Clearly. Have you been talking about how worried you are in front of Lian?”

Dolphin took a step back.

“What? No. I try not to.”

Roy could feel the small amount of energy he had used to be angry fade from him. He let himself relax into the couch a little. Dolphin took a seat next to him, and perched on the edge of the couch.

“Lian said she was worried about me. Have I been worse lately?”

“Roy, she’s worried about you because we all worry about you.”

“And you think that somehow, me dating is going to make you less worried?”

“No, I just wanted to help your dry spell.”

Roy looked at Dolphin and tried to muffle his laughter as she shook with it herself.

“I didn’t mean to get so mad,” Roy said after he calmed down.

“I know, it’s okay. I’m sorry that I did that. I should have just asked you if you wanted to go on a date with the guy.”

Dolphin put her arms around Roy’s shoulders and hugged him, her cheek smashing against his own. Roy chuckled and hugged her back. They pulled apart after a few moments and Garth came walking out of the bedroom.

“I heard laughing earlier, I just wanted to make sure you were good,” Garth said.

“You hear laughing and assume we weren’t okay?”

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Roy said, “We can’t stay mad at each other.”

“It’s true, how else will we gang up on you?”

“Please go back to being upset.”

 

***

 

Roy was out for his morning jog the next day and he felt better than he had in a while. He was looking forward to spending time with Lian, and he had even mown the lawn before he went for his jog. He had sent an email to Lilith about setting up something so that Lian could talk to someone on a regular basis while he searched for someone in Gotham for himself. Lian had been excited to go to school today, as well. Roy was glad to see she had been feeling better once the morning came.

He jogged past the park that he had seen on Saturday. He was passing a nice row of duplexes when he saw a familiar face.

“Hey Dick!” He called as he pulled his earbuds out and raised his hand in greeting.

Dick looked at him and then pointedly turned his entire body the other way. Roy slowly lowered his hand. Maybe they still weren’t at ‘greet each other’ territory yet.

“Well, have a good one,” Roy said, more quietly this time. He moved to put his ear buds back in and jogged past the house. He could feel Dick’s eyes on him, but tried not to overthink it too much. Maybe he was just having a bad day? Roy couldn’t be sure, but tried to push it out of his mind with the thought of spending time with his daughter.

 

***

 

Lian was very excited when she came home from school. She tossed her jacket and backpack into her room and rushed over to where Roy was sitting on the couch.

“Can’t we just go now?” She begged, her eyes wide and her hands clasped in front of her.

“The bowling alley isn’t going anywhere.”

Lian rolled her eyes and groaned, “You make that joke all the time.”

“You don’t like my jokes?”

“Dad, please can we go already?”

Roy chuckled and told her to change if she wanted to go. Lian rushed into her room and came out dressed in the time that it took Roy to put on his shoes. Roy handed Lian her bowling bag and grabbed his own.

“You’re a speedy one, aren’t you?”

“Come on!” Lian urged, pulling her father by the arm to the door.

Roy let himself be dragged to the car, resisting only when he had to lock the door to the house.

“I’m gonna beat you this time, Dad. Remember when I got a better score than Grandpa Ollie and Uncle Connor?”

Roy did remember. Lian bragged about it all the time. Roy also remembered that Ollie had gotten a little too wasted at the Alley’s bar and Connor had been distracted by how terrible Kyle was at bowling.

“Yes, I do. You’ll be sure to beat me this time.”

Lian pumped her fist in the air.

“Maybe we can join a league here too. I miss bowling,” Lian said, her eyes a little distant.

Roy figured it was the weekly time she spent with his family, not so much the bowling, that Lian missed.

“Well, you can ask Garth and Dol if they want to join one with us.”

“I have to teach Cerdian how to bowl without the bumpers. He never wants to put his fingers in the holes.”

“Well, he’s scared too. I’m sure you could teach him.”

Roy pulled into the Bowling Alley parking lot. Lian jumped out of the car and danced impatiently as Roy purposefully moved slowly out of the car. Lian frowned at him as he laughed and picked up his pace.

Roy walked up to the counter and paid for their time as Lian sat on the ground and put on her bowling shoes. He snapped a quick picture of her, sitting on the ground, with her tongue stuck out between her lips as she tied her shoes. He sent it to Connor.

“I wanna put in the names!” Lian said as she rushed over to where the clerk had pointed. Roy let her as he slipped on his own shoes. He took a moment to look around at the other patrons. There were a few guys in single lanes, and one or two lanes that had couples at them.

“Okay, I’m gonna go first.”

Lian pulled her ball out of her bag and stuck her hand over the air jet. She flexed her hand and walked up to the lane. Roy had to chuckle a little at how seriously his daughter took bowling. She took a deep breath and let it out as she launched the ball down the lane. Roy watched as it knocked over seven of the pins.

“I’m out of practice,” Lian pouted.

“I think that’s pretty good, coming off a month’s hiatus.”

“Lian Harper’s back in the game,” She said, stricking a pose with her hands forming finger guns.

“Okay, you ham, try and get that split you made for yourself.”

When Lian tried, the ball only hit one of the pins. She pouted, but told him she would get it next time. When it was Roy’s turn, he threw his ball and got a strike. He rolled his shoulder a bit, and turned to his daughter with a shrug.

“No fair! You’re supposed to be rusty!” Lian cried from her chair.

Roy laughed and sat down next to his daughter. She looked at him with determination and pushed out of her seat. Roy watched as she smacked nine pins down this time. They continued like that for a while, Roy trying to give his daughter the advantage now and then, but he was called out for it.

“I don’t want you to let me win, that’s cheating,” Lian had said, crossing her arms.

Roy surrendered and let his daughter try to earn her win. Once the first game was finished, he came out sixty points in the lead. Lian insisted that was her warm up game. Roy gave her the benefit of the doubt. The pins finished setting up and Lian pressed the new game button.

“Dad, why don’t you date anyone?” Lian asked as she walked back from the lane.

Roy had known this conversation was coming, but he couldn’t deny that he had wished it wouldn’t. The question was also timed so that the waiter carrying their cheese fries looked at Roy with barely concealed amusement before setting their tray down and walking away.

“I don’t think I’m ready,” Roy answered honestly.

“Is it cuz you’re still in love with mom?” Lian looked at him with a confused expression.

“Sort of, but no.”

Roy gave an uncomfortable shrug. Lian’s frown deepened as she scrunched her face. She looked like she was trying to decode him. Roy sighed and decided to meet her halfway.

“I loved your mom very deeply a long time ago, but I wasn’t ready to.”

Roy took a deep breath in. Lian knew there was a reason she hadn’t met her father until she was three. Jade hadn’t kept secrets from her. She had told Lian that he wasn’t ready to be a dad yet.

“I don’t want you and mom to get back together,” Lian said quickly. Roy blinked. “I don’t want you to think that. Some kids used to talk about how they wanted their parents to be together, but I don’t want that.”

“Okay.”

“I thought I did, maybe. But not now.”

Lian sat down on the seat next to Roy. He got up to go bowl. When he came back, Lian had devoured a good portion of the cheese fries. Roy laughed and handed her a napkin. She wiped the grease from her hands and face.

“You didn’t answer my question, Dad.”

“There isn’t really an answer for you, sweetheart.”

“Is this why Uncle Connor calls you difficult?” Lian crossed her arms in front of herself.

Roy snorted and tried to contain his laughter.

“Uncle Connor calls me a lot of things. It’s your turn.”

Lian wiped her hands on her pants one more time before smacking her feet to the ground and pulling herself up with the table. Roy could feel one or two stares on them from the neighboring lanes. He turned his attention back to his daughter and watched her bowl a strike.

“Nice one!” He held up his hand for a high five and she ran up to it and slapped his hand.

“Told you last game was just a warm up.” Lian kicked her feet against the table in front of her. “Are you scared to tell people about…” She motioned to her own arms, “You know.”

Roy’s face probably betrayed his feelings, but he tried not to look entirely shocked.

“Yeah, sweetheart, that’s part of it.”

Roy could feel his heart constrict in his chest. He had never sugar coated his past, and thankfully neither had Jade, but none of them really ever spoke about it. Lian had been five when she had come home from Ollie’s, asking what the word ‘junkie’ meant. Roy’s world had shattered as he tried to explain drug addiction to his daughter, Jade helping him along the way. Explaining it to other adults was difficult, explaining it to his daughter had been nerve wracking.

“I don’t think anyone should care,” Lian said, folding her arms again. “You’re better now.”

Roy was speechless and settled for simply ruffling Lian’s hair before continuing their game.

Two more plates of cheese fries and two more games later, Lian pointed at the scores in frustration.

“I was only fourteen points behind that round! Dad, can’t we play another game? Please?”

Roy looked at his daughter pleading to spend more time with him, even if it was just to try and beat him, and sighed. He walked over to the clerk and Lian did a victory dance as he paid for another game. Luckily, bowling was at least one of the cheaper activities Lian could be into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I smell drama brewing...


	5. Third Time's the Charm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy has an unfortunate conversation with Connor. Dick tries to live up to his name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever, sorry! Hope you enjoy!

"You’re still flying out here for my birthday, right?” Roy asked.

He could hear Connor sigh.

“Yeah, I’m still flying out.”

“Don’t sound so excited.”

“Sorry, I am, I miss you and Lian.”

“But…”

Roy quirked his eyebrow up, even though his brother couldn’t see him. He was leaning against the wall behind Garth’s shop, his free hand shoved into his armpit as he shivered slightly at the cool October air.

“But Ollie keeps threatening to come with me. Says it would do him good to get out of Star for a few days, see Lian.”

Roy frowned. He could hear Connor’s unsaid ‘and you’ in his mind.

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him he needs to call you first. He always complains you never call him.”

“Well there’s a reason.”

“I know that, Roy,” Connor snapped.

Roy stood a little straighter at the sound of his brother’s anger. He waited for Connor to say something else. He could hear Connor evening out his breathing.

“How long did you know?”

Roy’s heart picked up its pace.

“What?” Roy asked.

“How long did you know about Dad and Hal?”

Roy sucked in a breath.

“Connor-”

“So, you did know.”

“Yeah, I’ve known for a long time.”

Roy’s ears rung with the silence from his brother.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Connor’s voice cracked slightly at the end of his sentence. “Why wouldn’t you at least tell Dinah?”

“Because Dinah knew,” Roy sighed. Dinah had known for a long time, but it wasn’t his place to wonder why it had taken her so long to leave Ollie.

Connor’s response was incomprehensible as he sputtered.

“Look, it wasn’t my secret to tell.”

“I would have told you.”

Roy looked at his phone as the call dropped. Connor had never hung up on him before, not even back when he would call him, drunk off his ass, singing bad country songs. He stuffed the phone into his pocket and walked back into the tattoo shop.

“Everything okay?” Garth asked when he noticed Roy’s sullen expression.

“No, but when is it ever?”

Roy sat down at the counter and took off his coat. He sighed as he looked down at the paperwork he had been trying to file before his brother’s call. Garth stood in front of him expectantly. Roy continued to stare at the papers.

“Did Connor find out you knew?”

Roy looked up from the papers. His mouth was a straight line as he looked at Garth.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Garth leaned against the counter and folded his arms. “You should have told him. I told you that years ago.”

Roy shuffled the papers around in front of him.

“What did you know?” Jackson asked. He looked up from the sketch he was working on with a curious expression.

“Nothing.”

Jackson looked at Roy and frowned, but brought his attention back to the sketch in front of him.

“How upset would he be if I told him I knew?”

“Garth, please shut up,” Roy begged.

“Trying to make a joke.”

“Don’t.”

Roy looked back down at the papers in front of him. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and took it out quickly, hoping for a message from Connor.

‘Don’t forget the meeting tonight, 7pm sharp.”

Roy stared at the message from Lucas for a moment. He had forgotten about the meeting for the Halloween party. He typed a quick ‘thanks’ and shoved his phone back into his pocket.

“Ollie wants to come out for my birthday.”

Garth whipped his attention back to Roy. Even Jackson looked up from his drawing again. Roy smacked his head against the desk and let it sit there. He was done trying to pretend to look at Garth’s accounting.

“He’s not staying in the house,” Garth said.

Roy tilted his head and saw Garth standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. Roy managed a weak smile to thank him.

“Why does he act like nothing ever happened between you guys?” Jackson asked, his voice quiet.

“He calls it,” Roy lifted his hands to make air quotes, “a positive outlook.”

“Positive outlook my ass,” Garth grumbled.

“Ollie’s your old man, right?” Chato asked.

Roy lifted his head up from the desk and stuck both arms onto the counter instead.

“I don’t claim ownership, but he is an old man.”

Chato shook his head a bit, but kept his attention on his client. Roy watched for a moment as Chato filled in a black area on the client’s neck.

“Why do you even humor him, then?”

Roy thought about it for a moment. Why did he still put up with Ollie? He had messed up so terribly raising Roy. He had messed up raising all his siblings. Well, maybe he got better as time went on. Marginally.

“Well, Connor told him to call me first, so he probably won’t.” Roy shrugged his shoulders and tried to work out the kink in his neck that he always felt when he had to think about his foster father.

“I’m sure Connor will come around,” Garth came around Roy and placed two hands on his neck, working out the stress. “He doesn’t stay mad at you for long.”

“I know. He’s just never hung up on me before.”

“Dang, Boss Man, you giving those massages out for free? Me next!” Harley said as she swooped into the shop and lowered her sunglasses.

 

 ***

 

“Hey, man!” Roy called as he saw Lucas getting out of his car.

Lucas gave him a smile and a wave after looking around for the voice. Roy smiled back and walked up to the school. He had recognized a few cars from the last PTA meeting, including Dick’s. He hoped that the man wouldn’t give him the cold shoulder today.

“How’re you doing?” Lucas asked, slapping Roy on the back.

“Terrible, but that’s never a new development.”

“Ah, I’m sure it ain’t that bad. You said Lian was doing a lot better.”

“Yeah, she is. Back to talking to someone regularly,” Roy put his hands into his jacket pockets and sighed, “Should probably think about doing that myself.”

“You know, there’s AA meetings at the community center on Mondays,” Lucas said, putting his hand on Roy’s shoulder.

Roy looked at the older man and forced out a smile. He hadn’t told Lucas about his addictions outright, but the man seemed to be able to put two and two together from only a few interactions.

“Thanks, man, maybe I’ll check it out.”

Lucas shook Roy’s shoulder a little before dropping his hand.

“Alright, you ready for this meeting? I’ll warn you now, someone is gonna try to get you to sign up to help make decorations. Avoid that at all costs,” Lucas’ face was very serious, and Roy was having a hard time keeping his mouth in a tight line as well.

“Right,” Roy gave a salute before releasing a few of the chuckles he had been trying to keep caged.

“You laugh now, but when you’re six feet deep in streamers, foam cutouts, and Paper-Mache, don’t come crying to me.”

Lucas opened the door to the school and Roy rushed forward to catch the door as Lucas walked through it. They walked to the cafeteria and were greeted by Karen at the door. She handed them each a lemon bar and Roy didn’t understand where she found the time to bake these. He quickly stuffed it in his mouth and tried to look ashamed about it when Karen gave him an amused look.

“Sorry, they’re just…really good,” Roy said as he swallowed the dessert.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Karen smirked and walked back over to a few of the other parents.

“You can’t just give them your weaknesses like that,” Lucas shook his head, “Now all she’ll have to do is mention lemon bars and you’ll be begging to help out at every school function.”

“I don’t mind payment in lemon bars,” Roy said as he snagged another one of the bars from the table. He caught sight of Dick, standing next to Donna. He put his hand up and smiled, “Hey, man!”

Dick just stared at him. Roy put his hand down and looked at everyone staring at him. The room had gone quiet. Lucas looked between Roy and Dick, then made eye contact with Donna. Donna mouthed the word ‘Joey’ and then the word ‘date’ as she subtly tilted her head in Roy’s direction. Roy was trying to figure out why that made Lucas’s mouth fall into an ‘o’ when Clark cleared his throat.

“Why don’t we get started?” Clark’s smile seemed to be genuine, and Roy thanked the man in his mind.

There were several parents he didn’t recognize there as they made their way to the bench seats of the tables. Lucas tapped Roy on the shoulder and tried to show Roy his phone screen. Roy glanced at the phone at waist level and read the words.

‘Joey is Dick’s ex. I didn’t know you went on a date with him, I would have warned you.’

Roy internally groaned. He sat down at the small table and sunk his head into his hands as Clark began talking about what they would need for the Halloween party. Roy tried to listen to the man, but his thoughts were rushing past his ears too loudly. He found it slightly ridiculous that Dick would be angry with him about going on a date with his ex. If Joey had told Dick, he was sure he wouldn’t have framed it as a date. Joey had been clear about that; which Roy had appreciated. So how did Dick know? And why wouldn’t he just talk to Roy like adults did? They were adults. Though this was the same man who had practically tried to start a fight with him when they first met, so maybe Roy wasn’t so surprised.

“And we need volunteers to help make the decorations,” Clark said.

Roy was stirred from his thoughts by Clark’s change of tone and looked right at the man. Clark made eye contact with him and Roy could feel his hand lifting into the air. Why was his need to help this kind man so strong? Lucas gave him a disappointed look. He managed to break eye contact with Clark when Clark moved to write something down. Roy slowly lowered his hand.

“Good, so that’ll be Roy, Donna, Dick, and Karen on decorations. Can’t wait to see what you guys do! It’ll be hard to beat last year’s, but I have faith.”

Roy’s eyes went wide, and he snapped to look at Dick. He caught Dick turning his own head towards him. They both looked away immediately. The meeting continued, with Clark handing out a few papers to each of them, listing some of the other duties that they would have. Roy scanned it over and tried not to feel panic as he mentally tallied up the expenses. He let out a long breath through his nose and tried to breath in again.

“Thank y’all for coming, I’m really excited for this year’s party, I think the kids’re going to love it,” Clark said as he clapped his hands together.

“Yeah, excited it’s your last year,” Lucas joked. “Unless you and Lois got another surprise bun in the oven.”

Clark, and a few of the other parents, chuckled.

“Thankfully, no,” Clark said as he walked over to Lucas to chat a little.

Roy saw Dick duck out of the room. Roy got up and followed him. He felt like he needed to explain the misunderstanding to Dick, that maybe they could still be friends. Roy did want to be friends with the man, surprisingly. He knew it would make it easier on Mar’i and Lian if they at least got along.

“Hey, hold up,” Roy said, reaching his arm out. He brushed Dick’s jacket, but his hand didn’t close around it. He didn’t want to force Dick to listen to him. Dick stopped, but didn’t say a word or turn around.

“Look, I don’t know who you heard it from, but I didn’t go on a date with Joey. Well, I did, but not technically, or, only technically? I mean, my friend set us up, but we didn’t agree to it. I didn’t even know it was supposed to be a date.”

“Is that why you stayed and talked to him for an hour?” Dick’s body language was rigid, but he turned his head around and Roy could see a hurt look in his eye.

“He was a nice guy, plus he was excited to actually sign with someone he didn’t work with all day. Also, you probably haven’t even talked to him about this, have you?”

Roy knew he was right when Dick turned around fully; his mouth opened, but nothing came out for a moment.

“Tim made it sound like you were flirting with him.”

Tim? That name seemed familiar to Roy, but he couldn’t place it. He didn’t think it was the name of the pool hall employee…maybe one of those teenagers he had caught staring at him?

“I don’t know who told you that, but clearly they aren’t used to seeing someone be friendly.”

“My brother is plenty used to seeing people be friendly!” Dick’s voice echoed through the empty hallway.

Despite himself, knowing that this man in front of him would probably only be angrier with him for it, Roy burst into laughter. Dick stared at him for a moment before turning slightly red. Dick’s laughter joined Roy’s.

“I didn’t mean for it to sound like that,” Dick said between breaths. “Wow, I sound like an ass.”

“Nah, just a Dick,” Roy said.

“Good one, never heard that before,” Dick rolled his eyes, “But you’re right.”

“You could have at least talked to Joey about it before assuming I was being malicious.”

“Yeah, I could have.” Dick’s eyes seemed to grow sad. He looked behind Roy, and then to the floor. “I should have.”

“Hey, no hard feelings. I already talked to Dol about not setting me up on random dates.”

“I’m sure your friend’s heart was in the right place. Joey’s a great guy.”

Roy shuffled his feet a little; an awkward air had settled between them. By the look on Dick’s face, and the silent treatment Roy had been getting, Roy could figure out that there were a lot of emotions still at play.

“We’ve been broken up for almost four months now, I don’t know why I’m still like this.”

“Hey, we’ve all been there. Break-ups are tough.” Roy wanted to put his hand on Dick’s shoulder, but something kept him in place.

Dick let out a short, breathy laugh through his nose and ran a hand through his hair.

“You’d think I’d be better at it by now.” Dick looked directly at Roy. “Third time’s the charm, right?” He held his hand out to Roy, “Nice to meet you, I’m Dick Grayson, and I swear I only live up to the name occasionally.”

Roy snorted and shook Dick’s hand.

“Roy Harper, despite popular belief, I am not out to make your life miserable.”

Dick laughed, and Roy liked the sound of it. Their hands stayed clasped for a moment.

“I figured I’d be breaking up a fight between you two,” Lucas called from down the hall.

Their hands fell away from each other.

“Good to see you figured your shit out,” He said, looking between the two men, “Again.”

“You know me, always willing to admit I’m wrong,” Dick said.

“Yeah, right,” Lucas let out a sharp breath from his nose, “You’re a stubborn ass about ninety percent of the time.”

“What about the other ten?” Roy asked, enjoying seeing the man take some ribbing from his friend.

“The other ten he’s asleep.”

Lucas’ face cracked into a huge grin and Roy had to laugh. Dick rolled his eyes.

“You’re the worst.”

“Ah, but you keep me around anyway.”

The three men made their way out to the parking lot. A few of the other parents were getting into their cars, and some were still standing and talking.

“Listen, I feel like we should get to know each other better. To avoid this in the future,” Dick put a hand on Roy’s shoulder, “Besides, our daughters seem to want to spend a lot of time with each other.”

“Yeah, let’s get coffee or something,” Roy suggested, “Or we could bring the girls out somewhere. I know Lian loves bowling.”

“Bowling, huh? That sounds like a good time. Here, give me your phone, I’ll put my number in.”

Roy fumbled with his pocket and his phone fell out. Dick grabbed it before it hit the ground.

“Impressive, thank you,” Roy said. Dick waved it off and quickly typed in his number on Roy’s phone. Roy grabbed it back and sent a text. “There, now you’ve got mine, too.”

“Hey, Lucas, you and Jenny should come, too,” Dick said, “Mar’i does love hanging out with Jenny.”

“Yeah, just let me know.” The look on Lucas’ face was hard for Roy to decipher. He waved his goodbye as he climbed into his car.

“Well, I’ll text you tomorrow with a day?” Dick asked. They were next to his Lexus now, Roy had followed him without really meaning to.

“Sounds good, I’m off pretty much every day around 4, except weekends.”

Roy moved to go to his own car, but Dick placed a hand on his arm.

“I really am sorry for reacting before I knew the whole story. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.”

“Like I said, we’re good. Too old to be holding grudges anymore,” Roy laughed, placing a hand on his back and hunching his shoulders. Dick laughed and said good bye. Roy gave him a wave before heading to his own car.

 

 ***

 

“Wait, I thought he hated you again?” Garth asked the next day. Roy was sitting at the counter of Artemis’ shop, and Garth was leaning against it. He was noisily munching on a sandwich. Roy bit into his own.

“No, he apologized,” Roy said as he chewed his sandwich.

“I know it’s slow, but damn, at least chew with your mouth closed,” Jason said. He walked out of the back room and Garth passed him a sandwich. “You got me lunch?” Jason looked at the sandwich suspiciously.

“Yeah? I figured you’d be hungry too,” Garth said, taking another bite.

“What kind of weird vegetarian nonsense is it?” Jason asked, opening the wrapping carefully.

“They’re called vegetables, Jason, and they won’t kill you,” Roy joked.

“I think that was the most surprising thing I’ve learned about you. And you talk a lot. You’ve said many bizarre things. But you being a vegetarian takes the cake.” Jason unwrapped the sandwich enough to inspect its contents.

“He protested a lot in the beginning.”

“Yeah, and then Connor went vegan,” Roy said between bites, “And he would look at me with those sad eyes every time I would come home and put chicken in his freezer.”

“You stopped protesting when he told you he would cook for you,” Garth said.

“True,” Roy said. “Anyway, we’re going out bowling with the girls tomorrow night.”

“Lian gets to bowl twice in one week? She’s going to be over the moon,” Garth chuckled and wiped his mouth.

“Wait, who are you going bowling with?” Jason asked, half of his sandwich already devoured.

“Oh, you know, the girl who Lian got into a fight with and her father? Mar’i and Dick,” Roy said.

Jason started chocking and Garth patted him on the back. When Jason looked at Roy his face was contorted into amusement and surprise. Roy looked at Garth and then back at Jason.

“You know them?”

“Dick’s my brother,” Jason said. He looked down at the floor, “Maybe Duke is right, I’m really not around anymore if I haven’t heard about this.”

“Wait, he’s your brother?” Garth asked, “This whole time Roy’s been talking to you about this guy, and you never realized he was talking about your brother?”

“Well, to be fair, Roy usually only called him ‘the asshole’. Not the greatest description. Also, you’re implying I listen to everything he says.”

“Rude,” Roy said.

“Really the only way to be his friend,” Garth added.

Roy shot Garth a betrayed look. “Extra rude.”

Jason was laughing to himself still. “Lives up to his name, huh?”

Roy snorted.

“I assume you’re the one who exhausted all those jokes?”

“What kind of younger brother would I be if I didn’t? Besides, he comes up with the best ones himself,” Jason shook his head, “Takes the fun out of it.”

“So, what happened with Joey?” Roy blurted out his thoughts before he could process why he was asking.

Jason shrugged and took a bite of his sandwich. He chewed for a moment before swallowing. Garth rose an eyebrow at Roy. Roy grimaced and signed ‘I don’t know’.

“I’m not actually sure. Dick doesn’t really talk to me about his love life. He barely talks to me about anything anymore, probably stopped trying.” Jason’s eyes found the floor again, and Roy knew a guilty sibling when he saw one. “He didn’t really talk to anyone about it, I don’t think. One day, Joey just sort of…stopped coming to family dinners. But it’s not really my business anyway.”

“You have to have a theory,” Garth said. He crinkled up his wrapper and attempted to throw it into the trash can behind Roy. It hit the floor.

“Probably what broke up every other relationship he’s ever had,” Jason said. He sent a dirty look towards Garth as he trudged over to pick up the mess. “Commitment.”

“Ah, the dreaded ‘c’ word,” Garth looked over to Roy with a smirk.

Roy shot Garth a confused look. “What are you implying?” Roy signed.

“Nothing, you’re the one who asked,” Garth signed back.

“I didn’t mean to.”

“But you did.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it was more than friendly curiosity.”

“Sure it is. It’s not that someone was nice to you and-”

“Just so you guys know, I know what you’re saying,” Jason signed. He looked unamused.

Garth and Roy looked at each other and then back to Jason.

“Sorry man, that’s a bad habit,” Roy said. “Also, I didn’t know you could sign.”

“Did you ever ask?” Jason chuckled and threw his wrapper into the trash. When it sunk into the trashcan, he sent Garth a slight smirk.

Garth silently clapped for Jason while he rolled his eyes.

“Thanks for the lunch,” Jason said.

“You know, we could hang out too. You know, outside of work,” Roy said. “I could shut up for once and you can do the talking.”

“I’m fully aware of what’s possible,” Jason crossed his arms. His shirt sleeves raised a bit.

Garth eyed the bit of skin now exposed on his arm, noticing the ink on it. He pointed at it and sent a silent question to Jason. Jason rolled up his sleeve to reveal what seemed to be a half-finished bird tattoo.

“You could always swing by the shop and get that finished,” Garth said, inspecting the work. “Jackson is always looking to improve. Or I could do it.”

“Do I get a friends and family discount?” Jason laughed.

“If I do it, yeah. If Jackson does it, it would be cheaper.”

Jason searched Garth’s face for a moment. Roy figured he was looking for any sign of a joke.

“He means it, you know,” Roy said.

“What are your openings like?”

“You could come by next Tuesday, after closing. Dolphin’s taking Cerdian and Lian out that night, so Roy and I were just going to hang out at the shop anyway.”

Jason looked between the two men.

“I’d, uh, I’d have to talk to Dick.”

“Why?” Roy tilted his head.

“Because it’s, uh, well, it’s kind of a…you know, he has…”

“Holy shit, are you telling me you have matching tattoos with your brother?” Roy said. His face was brightened by the huge, amused smile on it. “You do care about your family! I knew it!”

Jason groaned.

“I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Hey, offer stands for your brother, too. I hate unfinished work,” Garth said. “Besides, matching tattoos with your brother isn’t weird.”

Roy nodded and pointed to one of the tattoos on his arm. It was a few arrows and a symbol from his tribe. “Connor and I have this same tattoo.” His eyes lingered on the tattoo for a few extra seconds. Connor still hadn't called him back. He hadn't even gotten a text from the man since before the call yesterday. 

Roy pointed to his other arm, where there was a small sprout growing out of ashes. “This one Mia has too.” He smiled softly, thinking of his sister. She was in college now. Barely had time to eat, let alone call her brother. 

“Yeah, I even have a few with my brother. Even if he’s not talking to me right now,” Garth said. Roy frowned, knowing that Koryak hadn’t spoken to Garth for almost a year at this point.

“Thanks,” Jason said. “I’ll, uh, call him later.”

“I could mention it tomorrow, too,” Roy said. “If you want.”

Jason looked tempted at the offer, but put his hand up and shook his head.

“Nah, I should probably call him anyway.” Jason walked back to the garage.

Roy watched him go and looked at Garth.

“You know, you also have a job.”

“Oh, shit, I hope Harley didn’t burn it down while I was gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is already planned out, so hopefully not as long of a wait!


	6. More Than Pins Are Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy goes bowling, and Dick is nice when he's not angry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever again, sorry, I sort of reworked the rest of the plot outline. Also, it's a bit of a short chapter, but I couldn't fit everything I wanted to into it, so the next one will be longer!

Roy watched as Lian, Mar’i, and Jenny giggled and put their bowling shoes on. Jenny was on her second try at finding a good size, even after Lian’s remarks about the sizes being weird.

“So, you bowl often?” Dick asked. He sat down next to Roy as he put in the names.

“Yeah, it’s sort of the family activity. Nothing like a good competition to bring us all together,” Roy laughed. “Even played in a family league.”

“Did you have matching shirts and everything?”

“Oh, do we,” Roy snorted, “They’re awful.” Roy looked over at Dick’s own choice of fashion and quirked an eyebrow, “Though I’m pretty sure that shirt is worse.”

Dick looked down at his polka-dot button up and looked back at Roy slightly offended.

“I told you that shirt was awful,” Lucas grinned.

He was walking back from the diner with a few plates of food, Andrew following behind him. He set the food on the table and then folded his arms.

“Excuse me if I don’t take fashion advice from the man whose wardrobe is funeral ready.”

“I also told you that shirt was awful, to be fair,” Andrew spoke up.

Roy snorted and finished putting in the names. He hit the start button as Dick sputtered in offense.

“Alright girls, you’re up first,” Roy said.

Lian’s grin took over her face as she confidently strode over to the lane. Roy could tell she was putting on a show for her friends. She released the ball and it flew down the lane, knocking over every pin. She jumped and turned around excitedly as Mar’i and Jenny clapped.

“You are really good!” Mar’i exclaimed as she gave Lian a high five on her way to the lane.

“Told you!”

Mar’i picked up her ball and hesitantly rolled it down the lane. It slowly made its way to knock over a few pins. Lian scrunched her face a little, but suggested that Mar’i get a slightly heavier ball. She set out to find one for her.

“She takes it so seriously,” Dick said, stuffing a French fry into his mouth.

Roy chuckled. “Yeah, well, that’s what happens when a little girl does something every week for most of her life.”

“Mar’i is like that with dance. She never misses a class, and always practices,” Dick said, “She’s going to be better than Cass at this rate.”

Roy searched his mind for who Cass was, and remembered that was Dick and Jason’s sister. There were a lot of names to remember in that family.

“I doubt that, Cass is the best dancer I’ve ever seen,” Lucas said, “So much natural talent in that girl. Not that Mar’i doesn’t have talent.”

Dick smirked, “Yeah, Cass is something else, but Mar’i looks up to her so much.” His smile grew a little sad, and it left Roy wondering if there was something more there.

“What do you do, Dick? I don’t think I know,” Roy said as he watched Jenny bowl. Lian clapped excitedly for her and Mar’i cheered.

“What doesn’t he do is the question,” Lucas laughed.

Dick seemed to be simultaneously flustered and annoyed at the comment.

“I teach a few fitness and gymnastics courses, sometimes I dance as well, but not as much anymore,” Dick explained. “I also hold a position on two of my father’s non-profits’ boards.”

Roy’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“And you’re raising a daughter? Where do you find the time?”

“You work two jobs yourself, and you do it on your own. I have Kory to help me with Lian, so you’re really the more impressive one,” Dick said. His smile threatened to make Roy flush more than the compliment.

“Dad! It’s your turn to bowl!” Lian yelled. She was tapping her foot impatiently and Roy chuckled as he ruffled her hair on his way to the lane. He threw the ball down and the sound of his strike echoed in the building.

“Gotta ruffle your hair every time now, it’s good luck,” Roy smiled at his daughter. She rolled her eyes, but smiled back at him.

“Can’t call it that until it happens twice in a row, Dad, that’s the rules.”

Roy chucked and lifted his hands in surrender.

“Guess we’ll have to see on the next round,” Roy said.

He walked back over to the seats as Lucas walked over to the ball return. Andrew wolf whistled as Lucas walked up to the lane, and Lucas wiggled his butt a bit in response.

“Dads! You’re being embarrassing again!” Jenny cried as Lian and Mar’i giggled. She put her face in her hands to cover her blush.

“We never stopped being embarrassing,” Lucas said as he threw his ball down the lane.

“It’s true, they never stop being embarrassing,” Dick whispered as he leaned over to Roy. Their shoulders touched for a moment and Roy felt a shiver run down his back.

“Damn, a split,” Lucas said, walking back to the seats.

“It’s okay, I’ll do better so our family can keep its honor,” Andrew smirked. He placed a kiss on his husband’s forehead. Dick threw a fry at Lucas’ face.

“Really mature,” Lucas said, picking up the fry from his lap and taking a bite from it, “What kind of example are you setting for our daughters?”

Dick stuck his tongue out in response. Roy watched the exchange with a lot of amusement.

“I’m allowed to be fun,” Dick muttered.

“Dick Grayson? Fun?” Lucas said. He put his hand under his chin and pretended to think. “I don’t think those two things fit together.”

Lucas received another fry in the face as Dick got up to bowl his own turn. Roy watched as he walked away, his eyes drawn to Dick’s ass. He quickly moved his eyes away from the man, instead focusing on the screen above them. He was definitely attracted to Dick, but he didn’t want to ruin a newly found friendship. He had almost done that once, and he wasn’t about to do it again.

Roy was pulled from his thoughts as Mar’i groaned at her father’s bowling skills.

“Dad, we’re going to lose!”

“I don’t think it was a fair fight to begin with, Mar’i,” Dick laughed. He sat back down next to Roy. “Now, if it was pool, that’s a different story.”

“What, you had a billiards table growing up, but not a bowling alley? What good is a mansion if there’s no bowling alley!” Andrew laughed.

Roy’s eyebrows rose slightly at the mention of ‘mansion’. He noticed Dick squirm a bit uncomfortably at the joke, but he still smiled and laughed it off.

“Yeah, well, too noisy I guess,” Dick said.

The girls all continued to talk and giggle amongst themselves as the night wore on. Andrew and Lucas had moved the subject back onto work. Apparently, Andrew was quite the liked teacher. Lucas complained a while about the most ridiculous IT requests he had gotten that week. Roy had to sympathize as he talked about a woman who had come into Atremis’ shop with her tires in such disrepair that you could see the cables.

“People actually let it get that bad?” Dick asked.

“When was the last time you actually checked the tread of your tires?” Roy asked.

“I’m pretty sure Artemis did it the last time I brought the car in for an oil change,” Dick replied, “I see your point.”

“It’s basic stuff, but barely anyone is actually taught how to fix their own cars these days. It’s why a lot of places can get away with charging up the ass.” Roy was always annoyed by that.

“Not Artemis, she’s a fair woman,” Lucas said. He took a sip from his water. “She never over charges for anything.”

“Probably had something to do with the amount of friend and family discounts, too,” Dick smirked.

Roy looked up at the scores as he walked up to bowl again. He was winning by a long shot against the others, save for Lian. He shook his head and wondered if he should try to give them a fighting chance next game. He bowled his final frames and Lian groaned loudly as he got two strikes, putting his score even farther ahead of hers. He chuckled and sat back down.

“Did you suggest bowling just so you could show off?” Lucas laughed.

“That wasn’t my intention, no. Plus, the girls are having fun,” Roy said. He looked over at the girls. They were currently trying to braid Jenny’s hair and giggling about something. Lian looked over at him for a moment and stuck her tongue out at him.

The next game began as Lian started to bowl her first frame.

“So, how is single fatherhood treating you?” Dick asked.

“Like you don’t know?” Roy laughed.

“Maybe I like to hear other people’s stories. Not a lot of single dads around our age here.”

“I’m barely a single father. It doesn’t feel like I’m alone,” Roy said. He ran a hand through his hair, missing his hat for a moment. “Garth and Dol have been absolutely amazing, even before we moved out here.”

“It’s good to have friends,” Dick said. He shot Lucas and Andrew a quick look of appreciation.

“Hey, we’re just the newest additions,” Lucas joked. He leaned forward to look at Roy around Dick. “It was tough breaking into his clique.”

“Clique?” Roy asked.

“Yeah, his high school friends. Very over protective.”

“Wally apologized,” Dick laughed. “Karen and Donna loved you right off the bat.”

“Oh? You should tell Donna that,” Andrew laughed.

Roy slid out of his chair when it was his turn to bowl. He gripped his bowling ball with both hands and walked up to the lane. He wondered if he should try to talk to Wally some more. His neighbor had been giving him continual odd stares ever since he moved in. Maybe he should try to open up to him some more, or at the very least try to be friendly. If he was a friend of Dick’s, maybe that’s where the hostility had come from.

Roy swung the ball between his legs and then rolled it out onto the lane.

“No! Dad! I have to beat you fairly!” Lian cried from her seat.

He watched the ball roll slowly down the center of the lane and then fall to the gutter right before hitting any pins.

“Oh, man, guess I’m losing my touch,” Roy grinned as he turned around to face his daughter.

She rolled her eyes at him. His eyes drifted over to Dick, who was snickering into his hand.

“Well, if that’s how you’re gonna bowl, maybe I do stand a chance,” Lucas said. He pat Roy on the back on his way up to the lane.

“You don’t actually have to lose on purpose, you know. It’s fun either way,” Dick said.

His voice was soft. Roy just smiled in return.

“Dick tells me he’s finally getting his tattoo finished,” Andrew said. “About time.”

Dick touched his shoulder for a moment.

“It’s really nice of your friend to offer us a discount,” Dick said. “I was surprised by Jason’s call. I had no idea you guys worked together.”

“Yeah, Jason’s a good guy.”

Dick smiled, but his eyes seemed a little sad.

“He is. We sort of had a falling out a few years back, so he’s been distant lately.”

Dick’s eyes seemed to stare into the past. Roy’s own heart ached as he remembered he still hadn’t heard from Connor.

“But, that’s in the past, right?”

Dick laughed, but Roy could tell it was forced. Roy’s phone started vibrating and he fished it out of his pocket. He saw Garth’s picture looking at him and swiped the screen.

“Hey, what’s-”

“You need to come home.”

Roy looked at the phone and then put it back against his ear.

“What do you mean? Is everything okay? Is Cerdian okay?”

“He’s fine, but I’m starting to lose it. We have a visitor. A certain visitor.”

Roy wracked his brain to try to figure out what Garth was trying to tell him. Dick looked at him and signed ‘is everything okay?’. Roy shrugged his shoulders.

“Garth, what are you talking about?”

“You need to come and deal with Hal.”

“Hal is at the house? Hal is on this side of the country?” Roy was already slipping his bowling shoes off and grabbing his jacket. Lian was looking at him curiously.

“Dad, where are you going?”

“Yes, he’s on my couch and I need you to remove him.”

“Yeah, I’ll try to get there as soon as I can.”

Roy hung up the phone and realized that everyone was staring at him.

“Hey, go ahead and go,” Dick said. He put his arm on Roy’s shoulder. “I can take Lian home when we’re done.”

Roy looked at his daughter. She looked up at him with big eyes.

“You want to stay here and finish bowling?”

“Yes! I’ll be okay,” She said.

Roy hesitated for a moment, but nodded at Dick.

“Thank you, I’m sorry.”

“Family is important,” Dick said. He pat Roy on the shoulder again. “It’s fine, really.”

Roy nodded and gave Lian a kiss on her forehead before slipping his jacket all the way on and heading to his car. Luckily, the bowling alley wasn’t terribly far from the house. The entire way home he kept thinking about why Hal would be here.

Roy pulled into the driveway with his thoughts bordering on the insane. He noticed that Dolphin’s car was gone as he rushed up to the front door.

“Roy! Good to see you, man!” Hal greeted as Roy walked into the house.

He looked terrible. Roy could see the bags under his eyes. His hair was a mess and his clothes looked a few days worn. Garth was leaning against the kitchen counter, looking disgruntled.

“What the fuck, Hal?”

“Hey, whoa, no need for that.”

“Are you drunk right now?” Roy squinted at Hal’s face.

“Only technically.”

“Hal, why are you here?”

“Hey, you owe me a few nights on your couch, right? All those times I let you sleep in my guest room. And that one time you came down to Coast for a month.”

“Except this isn’t my couch to offer, Hal. You know that.”

“Trust me, I tried telling him that,” Garth said.

Hal looked between the two of them with sad eyes.

“Ah, it’s fine, no one wants me anyway.”

Roy’s features softened considerably after the statement. He watched as Hal sunk back down onto the couch, nearly folding in on himself. Roy had never seen the man look so miserable. He sighed and sat down on the couch next to him.

“Did something happen with Ollie?” Roy asked as softly as he could muster.

Hal looked like he was about to burst into tears and Roy wasn’t sure how much of that he could take.

“Or, we don’t have to talk about it, I guess?”

“No, no. I should talk about it. You’re the only one willing to listen to me.”

Roy tried to refrain from mentioning that Hal wasn’t giving him much of a choice in that matter.

“Everything’s a mess, Roy. You’re the smart one, getting out of there before everything exploded,” Hal sniffled, and Roy flinched. “Dinah hasn’t talked to either of us for months at this point. Won’t let Ollie see Sin at all. He blames me.”

Roy sighed. He looked over to Garth, but Garth was currently expressionless. No help there.

“Ollie started yelling at Connor, at Mia, at everyone. Connor didn’t come over for a full week.”

Roy lifted his eyebrows. Connor hadn’t even mentioned he wasn’t speaking to Oliver.

“Emi tried to talk some sense into him, but Ollie ended up yelling at them too. I tried to calm him down, but he just said that I was a mistake.”

Hal was now sobbing into Roy’s shoulder and Roy awkwardly pat the older man on the back. He wasn’t really sure how to handle a drunk, crying Hal Jordan.

“Carol wouldn’t answer my calls,” he sobbed.

“Well, you did leave her almost four years ago.”

“But she’s my friend, Roy. I thought she was my friend too.”

“She probably didn’t want to deal with you either,” Garth mumbled.

Roy shot him a sharp look. Garth held his hands up and made a motion to seal his lips. Hal hiccupped.

“Okay, how about I get you a glass of water?”

Roy motioned to the kitchen. Garth sighed and walked around the counter to get a glass.

“Did Ollie kick you out?” Roy asked. Suddenly, he was transported to the past in his mind. The roles were reversed. Hal was sitting on his old leather couch, holding a shaking Roy. Roy blinked and tried to root himself back into the present.

“I just sold the condo, too. I don’t have anywhere else to go. I figured you’d understand.”

Roy felt his chest ache and he was wondering how long of a call with Waylon he’d have to have after this. He set the weirdness of this interaction aside for a moment and wrapped both of his arms around the man.

Roy couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Hal cry. Was it after he left Carol? When he thought Ollie would leave Dinah, but didn’t? Roy honestly didn’t know why the two men continued their affair after that. He knew Dinah had known at that point.

“Here,” Garth handed Roy the glass of water.

Roy silently nudged Hal and Hal grabbed the glass. He took a small sip and nodded his thanks.

“I’m sorry, Garth. I should have called first,” His voice was steadier now, “I didn’t mean to impose.”

“You did, but I’m fine with it,” Garth replied.

Hal chuckled, though it came out sounding more like a strangled cry than a laugh.

“I don’t know why I bother with him still, I don’t know why I still do this.”

Roy stared at Hal, searching his face.

“Because you love him, and love makes you do stupid things,” Roy said, mimicking the words Hal had once said to him.

Hal clearly picked up on that and started laughing. Roy laughed with him.

“Wow, you’re really an adult now, huh?” Hal said. He pat Roy’s cheek and Roy rolled his eyes at the gesture.

“Yes, does this make you the wayward teenager, now?”

“I suppose I am. Though, a wayward teenager with money for a one-way ticket across the country.”

“Only one way,” Garth whispered. Roy frowned at him.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you more, kid.”

“We’re done with those apologies, remember? Besides, you were there for me plenty.”

Roy smiled, and he surprised himself with how genuine it was. They sat there on the couch for a while longer. Hal recounted the ordeal in detail, and Roy was surprised at how much Connor had actually been keeping from him. Maybe Connor’s anger wasn’t entirely to do with Roy keeping that one secret.

Dolphin and Cerdian came home while they were still talking on the couch, and Garth used it as his reason to excuse himself.

“Hal, why don’t you go take my bed for tonight? We can figure out what to do with you tomorrow,” Roy said. His mouth curled into a smirk.

“Are you sure? I feel kind of bad for being here now, I can-”

“Just go, I’ll take the couch tonight. You look like shit.”

“You always have the nicest things to say,” Hal said. He gave Roy a hug before walking down into Roy’s room.

Once Hal was out of sight, Roy let out a long sigh and melted into the couch. Hal’s words kept bouncing around in his mind. Connor’s voice joined in. ‘You’re the smart one, leaving.’ Was Roy being selfish? No, Lian was thriving. She was doing excellent in school, was making friends, and even staying places without Roy. He did this for Lian in the long run.

As if on cue, he heard three knocks at the door and Lian came rushing in. She looked at Roy and then around the room.

“Where’s Uncle Hal?” She asked.

“He went to sleep in my room, you can say hello tomorrow. He needs some rest,” Roy said. He got off the couch and gave her a hug. “Off to bed for you, too, okay? You have school in the morning.”

“Fine, Dad.” Lian trudged off to her room.

Roy looked at the doorway, and noticed Dick standing there, slightly awkwardly.

“Everything okay?” He asked.

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s good.” Roy pulled a hand through his hair and nodded. “You get Mar’i home.”

“Oh, actually, Lucas and Andrew drove her over to Kory’s. They live closer anyway,” Dick said. “We don’t really do the whole ‘every other weekend’ thing. We mostly let Mar’i decide where she wants to go and when.”

“Sounds pretty amicable.” Roy motioned for Dick to step inside the house and close the door.

“Yeah, well, we’re still good friends,” Dick said as he shut the door.

“Jade and I are still good friends, but even then, we fought about Lian a lot,” Roy explained, “It’s nice to see someone setting the example.”

“Maybe of what not to do in high school,” Dick laughed. “I don’t regret having Mar’i at all, but there’s a lot of things I would have done differently.”

“Tell me about it,” Roy said. He smiled, but suddenly felt out of place. The room felt too small and Dick seemed too close. “So, I’ll, uh, see you tomorrow night at the shop, yeah?”

“Yeah, yeah, sounds good,” Dick said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Thanks for bringing Lian home.”

“It’s not a problem,” Dick said. “Anytime. I had a good time.”

“Same here.”

“So, see you, I guess.” Dick opened the door, but turned back to Roy and gave him a smile before walking out.

Roy stood in place for a moment, trying to get his heartbeat back to a normal pace.

“How’d the date go?” Garth asked.

Roy clutched his chest for a moment and swiveled around to look at his friend.

“It wasn’t a date, Garth, shut up. We took our daughters bowling with some friends.”

“Mhm,” Garth lifted an eyebrow. Roy frowned at him. “What’s the plan with Hal?”

“I told him he should go back if he wants to try to make things work. I told him he could use my room for tonight, though.”

“You think they’ll work it out?”

“Probably, who knows? They’ve been doing this dance for the last fifteen years, at least. Why would this stop them?” Roy sighed. He was going to have to call his family and try to piece together everything that was happening. Maybe he would start with Dinah, or Emi. They seemed like the least volatile options.

“You taking the couch, then?” Garth asked, nodding over at the sofa. “You could always snuggle up with Dol and I.”

“I’m not opening back up that can of worms tonight, thank you,” Roy laughed. He threw a pillow at Garth and he retreated.

Roy settled into the couch, pulling one of the knits around him. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep with his shoes still on, but his eyelids had been too heavy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! Goal is another chapter next week, but I'm also working on some unrelated prompt fics, so it could be delayed.  
> Hope you enjoyed! Leave me some feedback if you're reading!


	7. Apologies Come Easier With Age

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick and Jason get tattooed. Roy says sorry a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm, uh, really sorry for not updating this for like two months. Oops.

“Look, just sit on the couch and try not to say anything stupid,” Roy said. He was staring directly at Hal as they walked into the tattoo shop that evening.

“Why would I say something stupid?” Hal asked, clearly offended.

Roy stared at him incredulously. Hal gave in with a sigh and a nod of his head. Roy gave a wave to Miguel and Jackson, who were currently flirting over at Chato’s station. They didn’t seem to notice he had come in, and he smiled. Oh, to be young and in love.

“Hey, I ordered pizza already, it should be here soon,” Garth said. He sent a quick look of annoyance at Hal. Roy snorted.

“Oh, pizza too, huh?” Hal asked. He flopped down onto the couch and started flipping through some of the magazines on the table in front of him.

Roy sighed and lowered himself down onto the couch as well. He had sent Connor a text earlier that day, but all he could seem to type out was ‘I’m sorry’. He hadn’t heard anything back yet. He hadn’t even called to speak to Lian. Roy tried to push the anger from that thought down.

The bell chimed above the door and Roy looked over instinctively. Jason stalked through the door with Dick trailing hesitantly behind him. They seemed to be mid-conversation.

“Well if the kid wants to move back here, he should. His mother shouldn’t keep him prisoner.” Jason crossed his arms as he spoke.

Dick’s whole body seemed to sigh in response. “She’s not keeping him prisoner. Talia just wants him to have a good education, and to be closer to his heritage.”

“And not to have Bruce raise him.”

“Jason,” Dick shot his brother a warning look. He seemed to realize that the shop was quiet and that all eyes were on the two of them. His whole demeaner changed. “Sorry! Hello.” He gave a small wave and his smile could have blinded them all.

“Hey, why don’t you guys come over and sit down? I have the stencil ready, just want you guys to double check the design,” Garth said, gesturing over to the chairs. Roy was always amused by Garth’s ‘professional’ voice.

Dick passed by Roy on the couch, and sent him a small smile. Roy willed his heart to stop hammering in his chest. Hal shot him a knowing look. Roy chose to ignore it.

“This is Hal, by the way,” Roy pointed next to him, “You can ignore everything he says.”

Jason smirked. “Is that any way to speak to about your elders?”

“Whoa, elders? Do I look that old? I thought I could still pass for 29,” Hal said, both hands touching his face.

“In your dreams only,” Garth smirked.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Dick. This is my brother Jason,” Dick gave him a wave. “How do you know Roy?”

“You don’t talk about me?” Hal asked. His face looked visibly offended.

“I try to avoid it.”

Jason leaned slightly towards Dick, “It’s his new Dad.”

Roy rolled his eyes. Hal pulled Roy over to his side of the couch and rubbed his knuckles into Roy’s hair. Garth snorted from across the room and Roy tried to make his face look as unamused as possible. He didn’t verbally deny the joke though. He couldn’t bring himself to.

“What brings you out here?” Dick asked. Roy admired that he was trying to make conversation.

“Oh, just a quick business trip,” Hal lied. Roy frowned, but didn’t admonish it. “I’ll be leaving tonight; my flight leaves late. Wanted to spend some quality time with these boys, and Lian of course.”

Roy thought back to the morning, where he was woken up by the sounds of Lian giggling as Hal made her and Cerdian pancakes before school. It had reminded him of Hal’s visits when he was younger. He could almost hear the laughter from Connor and Mia as Hal recounted a story about Ollie and him in college. He smirked at the faces Ollie would make, trying to stop the man from exposing his horrible youth.

“Will you be coming back for Roy’s birthday?” Garth asked. He was distracted by trying to fit the stencil over Dick’s already present partial tattoo.

“Yeah, of course,” Hal said with easy confidence. Roy knew him better than that. He could see the uncertainty hidden in his shoulders. “Couldn’t miss your barbecue skills.”

“You’re having a barbecue?” Dick asked. He seemed to perk up at the mention. He looked at the stencil on his arm in the mirror and then looked over at Jason. Jason simply nodded back.

“Yeah, every year,” Roy explained, “Ollie started the tradition.”

Ollie had nearly melted the lid of the barbecue that first year. He was smiling the whole time, though. Connor complained that he could taste the burnt kebobs for weeks after. Roy hadn’t appreciated it at the time, but as the years wore on, he had come to look forward to the tradition. Whether or not he would ever verbally admit that to Ollie was questionable.

“You should come,” Roy said, “Bring Mar’i.”

“Thanks for the invite,” Jason mumbled.

“I invited you a week ago.”

“Must have not been listening to you,” Jason shrugged. Roy rolled his eyes.

“I’d love to come!” Dick said, “If I’m not imposing?” He looked over to Garth.

Garth waved his hand, “You won’t be the ones imposing, I can promise you that.”

Roy and Hal shared a smirk. Dick looked confused, but before he could ask about it, there was a knock on the glass front door.

“Where’s your wallet?” Roy asked.

Garth held his gloved hands above his head and stood up from where he was getting his inks ready. Roy walked over and plucked the wallet from Garth’s back pocket and headed to the door. The exchange at the door was short, despite the delivery girl’s blush. Roy placed the stack of pizzas on the table in front of the couch after pushing the magazines out of the way.

“Okay, Jackson. That should be good.” Garth peeled his gloves off and tossed them into the trash. “Let’s eat before we start.”

Jackson seemed to take that as his invitation and immediately dove for the pizzas after shedding his own gloves. Everyone else joined in, crowding around the table in the various pieces of furniture Garth had collected around it.

“What were you guys planning on doing before you offered to tattoo us?” Dick asked.

“Use the big screen to watch old kung-fu movies,” Jackson offered. “They find the worst stuff.”

“By worst, I hope you mean greatest,” Roy said, offended.

“Are there really still movies you guys haven’t seen?” Hal asked. He bit into his pizza, but that didn’t seem to stop him from continuing. “I could have sworn that’s all you did as teenagers was watch movies.”

Roy could hear the teasing tone and shot Hal a warning look. Garth cleared his throat.

“We can still put some on,” Dick said, “I love kung-fu movies!” He turned to his brother, a huge smile on his face. “Remember that one time broke three lamps and two antique vases trying to recreate Enter the Dragon?”

Jason seemed to let his face crack into a genuine smile and he laughed, “I think Alfred was more upset with the fact that we put a hole in the wall.”

Roy watched the exchange, both relieved that the conversation was off him, and intrigued by the brotherly bonding. He wondered what sort of fight had triggered the rift between the two men. It didn’t seem like his place to ask. He hoped that his fight with Connor wouldn't span years.

Once the pizza was finished, Roy stood up to put the movie on. Garth and Jackson started on the tattoos.

“You ready?” Garth asked as he lifted the buzzing needle to Dick’s arm.

Dick looked apprehensive but nodded. To his credit, Roy only saw a slight flicker of pain flit across his face. He watched as Jackson pressed his own machine to Jason’s skin. He didn’t flinch at all.

“So, what’s the story behind this?” Hal asked, his curiosity piqued. “Got to be some story.”

Dick and Jason shared a brief look. Roy knew silent communication when he saw it. There was a story alright.

Dick cleared his throat. “It’s sort of a family joke,” He began, his eyes focused on Hal’s now, “Birds of a feather.”

“Bruce,” Jason said the word like it was a thousand, “Would call us all robins.”

“A family nickname, that’s almost sweet,” Hal smiled. He looked at Roy. Roy made a face.

“Yeah, it used to be,” Dick said. His eyes read nostalgia. Jason’s face read that he wanted the conversation to be over.

“It’s good that you guys are patching things up,” Miguel said. “Tim said things have been tense.”

“Tim isn’t really one to talk,” Jason muttered. The look on Dick’s face indicated that he would have elbowed his brother if it weren’t for the tattoo machines pressed to their arms.

“Yeah, it’s nice. Maybe you’ll even come to Cas’s next recital.”

“I never miss her recitals,” Jason spoke to his lap. “I just never let you see me.”

Roy felt like he was intruding on a private conversation. Even though the room was filled with people besides the two brothers, he couldn’t help but feel like it was only those two in that moment.

Dick’s surprise was plainly written on his face. He opened his mouth to say something but seemed to be reminded of the other people in the room.  

“So, I hear that Mar’i and Lian made friends by punching each other in the face,” Jason said, the edge out of his tone as he changed the subject. “Did Mar'i learn that one from Damian?”

Dick let out a huff and Roy laughed.

Hal whipped his head between Dick and Roy, “Lian got in a fight?”

“You weren’t informed?” Roy asked, raising an eyebrow. He had been sure that the fight would have worked its way through the family grape-vine once he told Connor.

“Yeah, these two’s daughters had an all-out brawl,” Jason smirked.

“It was not an all-out brawl,” Dick said softly.

Hal threw his head back in laughter. “She really is your daughter, huh?” He clapped Roy on the shoulder.

“I’d be more mad about it, your daughter punching my favorite niece,” Jason started.

“Only niece,” Dick corrected.

Jason shot him a look, but continued, “But from what you tell me, now they just braid each other’s hair and giggle a lot.”

“There’s a lot of giggling,” Roy said, “It’s like they know something we don’t.”

“They probably do,” Dick’s voice came out as a chuckle. Roy met his eyes and smiled. He got one in return.

“I for one, am glad that Cerdian isn’t a fighter,” Garth said, wiping ink and blood from Dick’s arm.

“Cerdian cried once when Dolphin crushed a spider instead of letting it back outside,” Roy pointed out, “I think you’re definitely safe on that front.”

“He’s a sensitive soul,” Garth deadpanned.

“He has a sneaky side, don’t let him fool you,” Jackson laughed, “He is definitely your son.”

Roy and Garth quickly exchanged a look but dropped their eyes from each other when Hal cleared his throat with an almost laugh-like cough.

“Kids, am I right?” Hal said, leaning against the back of the couch.

“Like you would know,” Roy rolled his eyes, thankful for the distraction from Jackson’s comment.

“Hey, I helped raise you,” Hal said, looking offended.

Garth snorted, “Yeah, good job.”

Dick looked at Roy, puzzled. Roy had hoped he hadn’t sensed the awkward tension in the room.

“So, how bad is making decorations going to be?” Roy asked, steering the conversation away from their kids.

“I’m sure Lucas told you horror stories,” Dick said. “It’s not that bad, I promise.”

“You’re doing crafts?” Hal’s voice raised as if it was the most preposterous thing he had ever heard.

“They’re not crafts.”

“It’s basically crafts,” Dick said.

Roy listened as Dick talked about what the plan was. How there wouldn’t be too much to do, since they were trying to re-purpose as many decorations as they could this year. Roy visibly winced at the mention of cray paper and hot glue.

Roy felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he grabbed it out. When he saw Jade’s face and name on his screen, he gently excused himself to go stand outside. He took a deep breath and slid the screen open.

“Lian’s with Dol, if you wanted to talk to her,” Roy said, foregoing a greeting.

He heard her huff on the end. “I actually wanted to talk to you.”

Roy looked at the time on his phone and silently did the math. “Why are you still up?”

“Why? Worried about me?” Roy could hear the smirk in her voice.

“Nah, you’re a big girl now.”

“Ha.”

Roy leaned himself against the large glass windows and glanced over into the shop. Hal was laughing about something and Garth looked like he was trying to admonish him for making Dick chuckle.

“When Lian talked to me this morning, she said Hal was there.” Roy waited silently for her to continue, closing his eyes and leaning his head back onto the glass as well. “I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

“Jade, you’re thirty-six hundred miles away, you don’t have to-”

“I know how far away I am, Roy,” The venom in her tone making Roy open his eyes again. “I feel it every day when I hear Lian’s voice.”

“Well, maybe you should have thought about it before you took the job.”

“Roy, I didn’t call so we could have this argument for the thousandth time.”

Roy sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face.

“When did we stop being friends?” She asked. Her voice was softer now, vulnerable. It reminded Roy of the days that Jade would talk to him about her family, about her hopes, about her future. _Her_ future. Never _their_ future. Even back then, she knew they had an expiration date. Maybe he had too, he just never stopped to acknowledged it.

“We never stopped,” Roy said, trying to match her tone and failing, “I’m just shitty at being friends.”

“That makes two of us.”

He listened to her breathe for a moment. He smiled.

“I’m sorry,” He said, not sure where the apology had from, but he wasn’t stopping now, “It’s just tough.”

“I know.”

“Hal and Ollie had a fight, I’m sure they’ll figure it out.” Roy ran a hand through his hair. “He’s not nearly as unbearable as I remember.”

“Comes with age. You start to sympathize.”

“You would know,” Roy chuckled.

“Shut-up, Harper.”

“Thanks, for calling,” Roy said.

“I wasn’t done,” Jade said, “Have you talked to Connor yet?”

“Jade, you don’t have to-”

“Answer the question.”

“No, I texted him this morning but he hasn’t said anything back,” Roy wasn’t surprised at the frustration in his voice like he thought he’d be, “Why do you always know everything?”

“You don’t hide your moods from Lian as well as you think you do. She’s smart. Must have gotten that from me.”

“Yeah, probably.”

“It’s not fun if you don’t banter back, you know.”

Roy laughed, straight from his belly, but it still felt hollow.

“You’ll work it out,” She said, “You two always do.”

“You know, it’s stupid, but this is the longest I’ve gone without talking to him, I think. Besides that bender after…” He left the rest of the sentence unsaid. ‘After you left’ seemed too cruel to say out loud, especially after years of apologies and reconciliation.

“It’ll be okay,” She reassured him. Roy tried to be reassured. “How’re Garth and Dol?”

“They’re great, happier than ever. Sappy and in love and living their dreams, despite the baggage that lives in their basement.”

“You know they wouldn’t have invited you if they felt that way.”

“Yeah, I know,” Roy said. He took another glance in the shop and caught eyes with Dick. He gave him a thumbs-up and Dick gave a hesitant one back.

“You meet anyone yet?”

“Okay, Jade, I gotta go, thanks for caring about me, blah blah blah.”

She chuckled on the other end of the line. “Good night, Roy.”

“Night, Jade,” He smiled a bit sadly as he hung up the phone. He gave himself a moment of contemplation before he walked back inside.

His heart didn’t feel heavy, not like it used to after talking to Jade. Maybe the miles between them really were for the best. He felt like they were still trying to figure out how to have a relationship, a friendship, even after six years. Maybe they would never get it right, but he didn’t plan to stop trying; clearly Jade didn’t either.

He pushed open the door of the shop, locking it behind him.

“No, you’re the one who nearly shattered the chandelier and I got blamed for it!” Jason was laughing, and it was obvious that he was trying hard not to shake as Jackson shaded a part of his tattoo. “I wasn’t even in the room! I was studying!”

“Nerd,” Dick joked.

Hal gave Roy a look, but he just stared up at the screen. He listened as Jason and Dick gave blackmail worthy stories about Tim for Miguel to use against him. The laughter and buzzing of tattoo guns filled his ears and he tried to let it bring his focus away from the thoughts storming through his mind.

“Alright, I think that about does it!” Garth said, smiling at the finished tattoo on Dick’s arm.

Roy tried to get a look at the tattoo as Dick jumped up to look at it in the mirror. An almost-silhouette of a robin with it’s wings out, its beak sharp was now present where only an outline was before.

“You know that Tim is gonna want one now,” Jason grumbled as Jackson wiped ink from his arm.

Dick sent him a look that was meant to be frustration, but Roy could only see a soft understanding. “It looks better than I ever thought it would.”

He turned to Garth and held open his arms, a hug ready. Garth looked surprised for a moment, but brought Dick into an embrace.

“Thank you,” Dick said. “It looks amazing.”

Garth gave Dick a pat on the back. “Anytime.”

Jackson finished up Jason’s arm and slid his gloves off. Miguel came over to give him a quick peck on his forehead as Jason looked at his own tattoo. Roy couldn’t help but notice that there was barely any difference between the two artists’ work. He couldn’t help but feel pride for how far Jackson had come.

Jason held out a fist towards Jackson, his own version of thanks. Jackson met it with a huge grin.

“Can I take a pic, for my book?” He asked.

Garth raised an eyebrow. “Your book, huh?”

Jackson looked down at his feet and stuttered for a moment. “I know I don’t have a chair yet, but I have to build a book before I do, right? I just figured, between this, Roy’s tattoo, and the flash pieces it shows a good range-”

Garth came over and put a hand on Jackson’s shoulder, stopping him mid-rant.

“I think that’s a good idea.”

Jackson beamed up at Garth and then looked back over to Jason. Jason crossed his arms, but grunted his approval anyway. Jackson enthusiastically got his phone. Roy could see the hint of a smile on Jason’s face.

“Looks good, you guys happy with them?” Roy asked, getting up from the couch. He walked over to where Dick was still staring at the tattoo in the mirror.

“Yeah, wow, I am recommending this place to everyone,” Dick said, nonchalantly. He looked over at Roy’s arms, and Roy tried to think of anything but Dick’s eyes roving down his body. “Garth did most of your work, too, right?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Please don’t use Roy’s tattoos to gage my work,” Garth chuckled, “He’s like an old sketchbook.”

“Wow, I can feel the love,” Roy said. He gave Garth a jab in the side with his elbow. He turned back to Dick. “He’s improved a lot since most of these.”

“You can’t even see the worst of them,” Hal joined in, “And from what I hear, Jackson has been fixing them.”

“I only did one,” Jackson quickly explained. He put his phone into his pocket, clearly done taking pictures of Jason’s arm. “It’s not like I’m trying to upstage Garth or anything.”

“I know I told you that ego could kill you in this industry, but have a little more confidence in your work,” Garth said, his tone soft. Jackson nodded his head once, as an apology. Roy figured Jackson would have a chair pretty soon, if that proud look on Garth’s face was any further indication.

Roy looked at the time, and then looked at Hal. Hal quickly looked at the time on his phone and groaned. He quickly typed a few things onto his phone, most likely setting up a ride-share to come drive him to the airport.

Hal nodded towards the door and Roy grabbed his keys so they could grab Hal’s suitcase.

“Well, it’s time for me to head home and deal with my life,” Hal announced with a false grin.

Roy could see Garth biting down a comment. He came over and gave the man a hug anyway. Hal clapped Garth on the back and whispered his thanks.

“It was good meeting you,” Dick said. “See you…” He looked Roy for a moment, but continued, “When it’s Roy’s birthday.”

“November first,” Hal provided.

“Right, see you then.”

Everyone else wished him safe travel, and the two men walked out of the shop. Hal gave Roy a meaningful look as Roy popped his trunk. He didn’t stop, even as Roy hauled the luggage out and slammed the trunk closed again.

“Just say what’s on your mind, Hal.”

“Who says I want to say anything?”

Roy tilted his head and stared daggers into him.

“What, no joke about how I always want to say something?”

Roy continued to stare.

Hal sighed and grabbed his bag from Roy. “What’s going on with that guy in there?”

“There were a lot of guys in there, you have to be specific.”

Hal chuckled, “You know who I’m talking about. Dick. You two have something going on?”

Roy’s instinct to immediately shift his eyes back to the door of the tattoo shop to see if anyone was paying them mind gave him away to Hal.

“So, there is something.”

“No!” Roy blurted out, “No, there’s nothing… Dammit, Hal, why do you always do this?”

“Do what?” Hal asked, his face contorted into confusion.

Roy sighed and leaned against the car. He fiddled with his keys for a moment.

“You always think there’s something going on with everyone.”

“Well, four out of five assumptions have been right,” Hal smirked, “I was especially right about Garth and Dol.”

“Don’t,” Roy looked back through the glass of the shop. When he was content with seeing everyone engrossed in conversation, he looked back at Hal.

“Ah, so Dick doesn’t know about that.”

“Stop acting smart.”

“It’s not an act,” Hal laughed, “You’re easy to read. Though, that might just be from knowing you so long.”

Roy said nothing. He stared down at the pavement, wishing for it to swallow Hal up into it. Being known by Garth and Dol was one thing, but being reminded that he was so known by other people was always tough.

“There’s nothing…” Roy forced his eyes to continue staring at the pavement, “There’s nothing going on with Dick.”

“But you want there to be?”

“Drop it, Hal.” Roy’s voice was solid, thankfully. “We’re just friends. We’re only going to be friends.” He hoped that saying the words out loud would make them truer.

Hal walked over and put a hand on Roy’s shoulder. It was a move that he had done countless times before. Now, Roy was taller than Hal, if only by an inch or two, but the gesture retained its meaning. It was a thousand unspoken reassurances wrapped into a single touch.

“Okay,” Hal said. Roy could hear Hal’s ride pulling up to the curb. “Take care of yourself.”

Roy pulled Hal into a hug. Hal grunted at the sudden force, but wrapped his arms around Roy all the same.

“You should too.”

Roy squeezed Hal a little tighter before letting go. He watched as the man threw his suitcase into the trunk and immediately started to converse with the driver. Roy gave Hal a tiny wave as the car drove off.

Once the car was out of sight, Roy let out a long sigh and draped himself over the back of his car. His head hit the back window. He sat there for a moment, looking up at the cloudy night sky.

Roy heard the door to the shop open, but didn’t move. He probably should have, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He felt the car move as someone, probably Garth, mimicked his position.

“You okay?”

Roy’s head snapped over to see Dick staring at him. His blue eyes dulled by the night around them.

“Yeah, I’m good,” He replied. He sat up, suddenly ashamed that he hadn’t as soon as he heard the door open.

Dick sat up as well, probably to try to make Roy feel less awkward. It almost worked.

“It’s tough being away from family,” Dick said. His eyes were still trained on Roy. “It’s tougher to say good bye again.”

Roy laughed, to mask how deeply the words affected him. He ran a hand through his hair. “Hal? Nah, it’s always easy to say good bye to him. Besides, I’ll have to see his mug again soon.”

Dick just looked at him with the same, knowing expression he had been. Roy looked at the ground.

“Hey, Dick!” Jason called as he walked out of _Atlantis_ , “I’m heading out, which means you are too.”

Dick snorted and got up off the car. “You’re so pushy.” He turned back to Roy. “See you Saturday, yeah? Don’t forget Karen’s at 6.”

“You got it, wouldn’t want to miss adult craft time.”

“Listen to Lucas next time, you’re the one who volunteered.”

Dick’s smile was contagious, and Roy laughed. He called his goodbyes to Jason and hopped off his car. He walked back inside, where Jackson was sweeping up and Miguel was helping to gather the trash.

Garth smirked and Roy flipped him off. The action didn’t deter Garth’s smirk and so he offered to take the trash out back for Miguel. Roy tried not to get too angry when Garth followed him to the alley.

“You talk to Jackson about that comment?” Roy asked as he lobbed the trash bag into the dumpster. He knew that would wipe the smirk off Garth’s face and he only found himself half-guilty about it.

“He didn’t realize what it sounded like,” Garth muttered. His hurt tone made Roy find the other half of the guilt. “You talk to Hal about his…entire self?”

Roy let out a laugh that was more like a breath. “Can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

“That is false.”

Roy walked over to Garth and leaned beside him on the wall. He gave Garth a gentle poke with his elbow. Garth returned it.

“Come on, let’s go the hell home.” Garth threw the back door open.

 

***

 

Roy was stretching at his door the next morning, up earlier than he had been in a week. He decided he was going to go for his run before dropping off Lian at the bus stop. He was in the middle of a bend when he saw Wally jogging up to the house.

“Hey! Roy!” Wally waved, a smile plastered on his face despite the nervous energy around the rest of him.

Roy waved, words failing to come to him. He had never caught Wally on his morning run before, despite Linda’s suggestion. Apparently, it was because Wally ran at an absurd hour. Roy was pretty sure the sun wasn’t even all the way up yet.

“Don’t usually see you out this time of day,” Wally said. He pulled his earbuds out. “You going for a run? Want to tag along on my route?”

“Uh, sure,” Roy said. He was unsure of why Wally would invite him along on his run, but he did need a change of routine every once in a while.

The run was silent for the most part, the only sounds exchanged were a few heavy breaths and a grunt or two from Roy. About fifteen minutes into the run, Wally finally spoke up.

“You want me to slow down?”

Roy sent him a sharp look and sped up for good measure. Wally chuckled and brought his own pace up.

“How are your twins?” Roy asked, the ice being broken now.

Wally looked a bit surprised with the question, but smiled. “Growing up too fast, and in different directions. I figured they’d be similar, you know?”

Roy laughed, “Already their own people.”

“You can say that again. Last week they decided to redecorate by pushing all their furniture into the middle of their room. I told Linda we should have gotten a bigger house.”

“You buy before or after the twins?”

“After, but I had hoped they would like each other at least a little longer,” Wally chuckled.

“Ah, I’m sure they’ll get past it. Siblings are complicated things,” Roy said, his heart heavy with the words. Maybe he was saying them to himself more than Wally.

“I wouldn’t know,” Wally said. “You got siblings then, I guess?”

“Yeah, more than I need,” Roy joked.

Wally was silent for a minute, and they jogged, though it wasn’t as awkward as Roy had worried.

“I was constantly over at Dick’s when I was a kid,” Wally said, his eyes laser focused ahead of him. “He had enough siblings for the both of us.”

Roy only had to look at Wally’s face for a moment to couple it with the tone of his voice. Roy knew that combination of anger, sadness, and resentful nostalgia. Maybe he had been a bit hard on Wally.

“He’s the type of guy that’ll open his home to anyone,” Wally continued, “He became the brother I never had before.”

Wally looked over at Roy. Roy could feel the scrutiny. They made their way back to the neighborhood, slowing down a bit on the return.

“So, Sunday is the big game,” Wally said.

“You’re a Goliaths fan?” Roy said, his displeasure evident in his voice.

“Oh no, don’t tell me you’re a Stags fan.”

“Raised in Star, can’t support any other team,” Roy said, puffing his chest out.

They both laughed as they reached Wally’s front yard.

“Well, even if you’re routing for the enemy, Linda and I are throwing a football party on Sunday. Nothing big, just having everyone over for food and company.”

Roy noticed that Wally didn’t mention alcohol, like people usually do when talking about football games. He was silently grateful for it. Even if Roy wasn’t too shy to admit he was sober, he liked to avoid it if possible.

“Sounds great!” Roy said, surprising himself with how true it was. “I’ll see you then. Thanks for the run, too.”

“Yeah, no problem, it was good.”

Roy walked back over to his own side of the street and unlocked his front door. Dolphin’s car was gone from the driveway already, so the run must have been longer than he had anticipated. Lian was sitting at the counter, eating some cereal when he came in.

“Up already?” Roy grabbed her spoon from her and took a bite of her cereal. Lian let out a groan and tried to swat her father away from her bowl.

“Make your own,” Lian told him. Roy chuckled and grabbed a banana off the counter. “And take a shower before you drop me off, you smell.”

“Really feeling the love this morning,” Roy set his phone down on the counter, in case Jade’s call came while he was showering. Lian simply pointed towards the bathroom and Roy couldn’t help but see the resemblance in that moment.

Roy might have let the shower take a bit longer than strictly necessary. The hot water felt too good to pass up. When he left the bathroom, Lian was standing at the door with Roy’s phone to her ear.

“Yeah, Uncle Connor, I love you too,” Lian said, her smile huge. She caught sight of her father and her smile faltered a bit. “Dad is out, you can talk to him now.”

“I was going to walk you to the bus stop,” Roy protested, not taking the phone from Lian.

Lian jutted her hip to the side. “I can walk myself today, Dad. Talk to Uncle Connor.”

Roy took the phone from her and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead.

“You always were the sensible one.”

“I know,” Lian sighed as she walked through the door.

Roy snorted, and then looked at the phone in his hand.

“Roy, I know you’re there,” Connor’s voice drifted up from the phone. “Let me apologize.”

That got the phone right to Roy’s ear.

“You don’t have to apologize, I should have told you about-”

“No, Roy, no I do have to apologize,” Connor cut him off. He took a deep breath, but Roy remained silent. “I should have told you everything that was going on here, and I shouldn’t have let it make me angry at you.”

“Is it that bad?”

“No, it’s not,” Connor admitted, “It’s just hard to deal with it when you’re not here to yell at everyone.”

“I knew I was good for something,” Roy joked.

“I’m sorry.”

Roy let the apology hang between them for a moment. He was grateful for it, but also pissed that it had taken this long. He tried to figure out what to say.

“I’m sorry that I got mad at you, and I’m sorry it took this long for me to even say it.”

“It’s okay, Connor.” Roy said. He let out a sigh and leaned his head against the front door. “I’m sorry I abandoned you over there.” Roy could hear Connor take a breath to say something, but Roy was faster. “Don’t say that I didn’t.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Connor rebuked. “I was going to say thank you for admitting it.”

“Who taught you how to be such an ass?”

“Someone has to be now that you’re gone.”

Roy heard the smirk in his brother’s voice.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Ollie and Hal years ago.”

“I’m sorry I expected you to,” Connor replied. He sighed, and Roy slid down against the door. He brought his knees up to his chest. “Things have just been strained over here. Ollie has been a nightmare.”

“Yeah, Hal told me.”

“Wait, Hal told you?” Roy chuckled at the surprise in Connor’s voice.

“Hal flew out here the other day, because Ollie was being impossible.”

“I had no idea,” Connor sighed, “I haven’t talked to anyone for a while.”

“Don’t feel guilty about that, you don’t have to play mediator in every argument.” Roy knew the words wouldn’t do much to ease Connor’s guilt, but he had to try.

“How many times has something like this happened?” Connor asked, a bit quiet now.

Roy sighed and looked up at the strange, textured ceiling. “A lot, probably more than I even know about.”

“Ollie almost left Dinah four years ago, didn’t he? When Hal left Carol?”

“Yeah,” Roy said. He rubbed at his knees. He watched as Garth’s door opened and he made his way to the bathroom. “Why’s Ollie mad at you?”

“He thinks I know something about why Dinah won’t let him see Sin.”

“Do you?”

“I already told him it’s because Dinah thinks he’s drinking too much again. He always thinks someone’s out to get him, when it’s really just him.”

“Is it that bad?” Roy’s heart hurt.

“I think Dinah really just wants to give herself some time to not worry about him. I don’t blame her.”

They both sat silent for a moment. Roy could hear Connor’s soft breathing on the other end and Roy picked at the hole in his jeans. Roy didn’t blame her either.

“How are you, though?” Roy asked. “Aside from all of the family nonsense.”

“I’ve been good,” Connor immediately replied, probably ecstatic to get back to their usual conversations. “College has been manageable. Kyle is showing his portfolio to someone today, he’s excited.”

Roy smiled. They spoke for some time about Connor’s course load and how Kyle had insisted they rearrange every piece of furniture in the apartment. Apparently, Roy and Lian’s old room was now a studio. Roy was almost a little sad at the thought, but he knew that they needed to make the apartment their own.

Garth walked over to him and poked him with his foot before making his way to the kitchen.

“I have to go Connor, boss is making me get ready for work.”

“Sounds about right. Call later, okay?”

“I will.” Roy hung up the call and got up from his position on the ground. He made his way over to the counter and sat down. He watched Garth silently make his breakfast.

“So, you patched things up?” Garth asked.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Roy looked down at the counter. “I think we did.”

“Good.”

Garth placed his bowl on the counter and walked around to sit next to Roy. Roy watched him eat for a moment before furrowing his brows.

“That’s all you’re going to say?”

“I knew you would,” Garth said through a mouthful of granola.

Roy sighed. That was so like Garth he couldn’t even argue.

“When’s Jackson getting his own chair?”

“I swear if one more person asks me that I’m going to make it longer out of spite.”

“Dol already get on you about it?”

“And Harley already texted me about five times about it this morning. Chato even texted me,” Garth shook his head, “I swear they all took to Jackson faster than me.”

“He’s a good kid, and a good tattoo artist.”

“Yeah, I know. I want to wait until Arthur and Mera come out though.”

“It’s your decision, not theirs,” Roy reminded him. He knew that Garth was still always looking for their approval, but Jackson was his apprentice, not theirs.

“I know,” Garth took another bite of his cereal, “I just want them to be here when I tell him.”

“You big softy,” Roy nudged Garth a little and he snorted. “Come on, finish your cereal. I start at Artemis’ soon, and we need to carpool.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Garth waved at him as he started shoveling the granola into his mouth faster.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope it was, at least somewhat, worth the wait. Hope you enjoyed!


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